Arthur Cleveland Bent Ornithological Papers, 1880-1942

8 boxes (5.5 linear ft.)

Collection number: MS 413

Abstract:

Ornithologist; author of Life Histories of North American Birds and other titles; fellow and active member of American Ornithologists' Union. Contains Owen Durfee's field notebooks (1880-1909), Bent's journals (1887-1942), photographs, catalog of negatives (1896-1930), correspondence concerning photographs (1925-1946), mimeographed and printed material. Includes lists of nest observations, egg measurements, bird sightings, as well as records pertaining to negatives and specimens provided to organizations such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Bristol County Agricultural School, and the United States National Museum.

Terms of Access and Use:

The collection is open for research.

Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Biographical Note

1866	Born November 25, Taunton, Massachusetts.
1889	A.B. Harvard University
1891	Agent, Safety Seamless Pocket Company
1893	Treasurer, Plymouth Electric Light Company
1894	Treasurer, Atlantic Covering Company
1900-1931	President and Treasurer, Plymouth Electric Light Company
1900-1914	General Manager, Mason Machine Works
1914	Married Madeleine Vincent Godfrey, January 20
1919-1942	Author, Life Histories of North American Birds, and other titles totaling over 20 volumes.
1919-1942	Associate in Ornithology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
1919-1942	Collaborator, Smithsonian Institute
1954	Died

Professional Activities:

Fellow, American Ornithologists' Union (Vice Pres. 1929-1934, Pres. 1934); member National Audubon Society, Bristol County Academy of Sciences (Pres. 1915), Nuttall, Wilson, and Cooper ornithological clubs.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Arthur Cleveland Bent Ornithological Papers (1880-1942) consist mainly of Owen Durfee's pocket size field notebooks (1880-1909) and Bent's own journals (1887-1942) which detail Bent's daily ornithological activities, including photographs from trips to Arizona, California, and Florida; also, photographs, some numbered and some unnumbered, of birds, nests, and eggs by various photographers, and other materials relating to photographs; lists of bird, nest, and egg observations, eggs wanted by and shipped to museums; and a few mimeographed and printed materials.

Some of the material provided data for Bent's volumes of Life Histories of North American Birds published between 1919 and 1942 and other titles.

Materials are arranged into six series: Field Notebooks, Journals, Photographs, Lists, Mimeographed and Printed Materials, and Handwritten index cards for books in Bent's collection.

Field notebooks and journals are arranged chronologically, the photographs are by plate number when applicable, and the lists are alphabetical by topic.

This collection is organized into six series:

Series 1. Field Notebooks, 1880-1909
Series 2. Journals, 1887-1942
Series 3. Photographs
Series 4. Lists
Series 5. Mimeographs and Printed Materials
Series 6. Handwritten index cards for books in Bent's collection

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Arthur Cleveland Bent Ornithological Papers (MS 413). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

History of the Collection

The papers of Arthur Cleveland Bent (1866-1954), which were given to the University in 1959 by Mrs. Bent with a collection of Mr. Bent's books, remained in the possession of Professor Lawrence Bartlett of the Zoology Department until they were received in the Archives in 1983 after Professor Bartlett's death. Books have been cataloged and incorporated into the Du Bois Library's circulating collection.

Processing Information

Processed by Linda Seidman, 2003.

Additional Information

Contact Information

Special Collections and University Archives

W.E.B. Du Bois Library
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9275

Phone: (413) 545-2780
Fax: (413) 577-1399

Link to:

[ Email reference form | SCUA home | UMarmot catablog ]

Language

English.

Additional Finding Aids Available

Cards to book collection available on level 25.

Series 1. Field Notebooks	1880-1909

Field notes	1880/1881/1882	Box 1

Field notes	Jan. 8, 1892-Oct. 1, 1893	Box 1

Field notes	1883/1884	Box 1

Field notes	Jan. 6, 1894-May 11, 1896	Box 1

Field notes	Jan. 2, 1885-May 12, 1887	Box 1

Field notes	May 11, 1896-May 30, 1897	Box 1

Field notes	Feb. 19, 1888-May 31, 1888	Box 1

Field notes	May 31, 1897-Dec. 1, 1900	Box 1

Field notes	June 1, 1888-Apr. 26, 1890	Box 1

Field notes	Dec. 1, 1900-Apr. 15, 1902	Box 1

Field notes	Apr. 29, 1890-Apr. 17, 1891	Box 1

Field notes	Apr. 18, 1902-May 7, 1904	Box 1

Field notes	Apr. 18, 1891-Dec. 31, 1891	Box 1

Field notes	May 7, 1904-Dec. 2, 1906	Box 1

Field notes	Dec. 5, 1906-Feb. 27, 1909	Box 1

Series 2. Journals	1887-1942
Some volumes are entitled "Field Notes."
Journal	1 Jan. 1887 - 16 Oct. 1897	287 pp. bound	Box 2-4

Journal	8 Mar 1898 - 3 Dec 1900	280 pp. bound	Box 2-4

Journal	5 Jan 1901 - 26 Oct 1901	114 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	22 Mar 1902 - 29 Nov 1903	256 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	19 Apr 1904 - 10 Aug 1904	108 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	1 Apr 1905 - 5 Aug 1905	140 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	3 Mar 1906 - 7 Sep 1907	240 pp. string	Box 2-4

Journal	24 Mar 1908 - 20 Dec 1908	152 pp. string	Box 2-4

Journal	7 Feb 1909 - 15 Apr 1911	172 pp. string	Box 2-4

Journal	29 Apr 1911 - 4 Jul 1911	222 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	3 Jun 1912 - 10 Dec 1913	214 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	24 Apr 1915 - 12 Jul 1919	160 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	10 Apr 1920 - 24 Jun 1920	50 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	4 Apr 1922 - 6 May 1922	84 pp. ring	Box 2-4
Includes Arizona trip, 80 photographs
Journal	7 May 1922 - 1 Jun 1922	106 pp. ring	Box 2-4
Includes Arizona trip, 66 photographs
Journal	4 May 1923 - 26 Apr 1925	166 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	10 Feb 1929 - 1 May 1929	80 pp. ring	Box 2-4
Includes California trip, 53 photographs
Journal	12 Jan 1930 - 21 Mar 1930	52 pp. ring	Box 2-4
Includes Florida trip, 9 photographs
Journal	2 Apr 1936 - 22 Apr 1936	20 pp. ring	Box 2-4

Journal	5 Apr 1942 - 12 Jun 1942	9 pp. ring

Series 3. Photographs

Photographs numbered as Plates 1-15, 16-30, 32-42, 2-34 (from Bent's folder labeled "unsorted", 37-81 (from same folder), and unsorted.		Box 5

Catalog of Negatives,	May 17, 1896-June 4, 1930	Box 5

Lists of negatives given to Massachusetts Audubon Society and the U.S. National Museum.		Box 5

Letters (3) from photographers, 1925-1946, and lists of available prints or negatives.		Box 5

Series 4. Lists

Bird sightings reported in print by others	1801 (1879-1900)	Box 6

Bird specimens? Eggs? shipped to Bristol County Agricultural School,	1926-1928	Box 6

Distribution, Part 19: Warblers (typescript).		Box 6

Eggs of North American birds wanted by National Museum,	Pre-1931 to 1934; n.d.	Box 6

Egg measurements (handwritten notes).		Box 6

Nest observations by many collectors (notebook),	1862-1934	Box 6

Nests shipped,	1931 and 1934	Box 6

Series 5. Mimeographed and Printed Materials

Mimeographed job completion reports for Massachusetts Wood Duck Project. C. Barlow, The Story of the Farallones,	1897	Box 6

Series 6. Handwritten and typed index cards for books in Bent's collection

Handwritten and typed index cards for books in Bent's collection			Box 7-8