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COLLECTION Identifier: HUGFP 28.xx

Papers of J.O. Brew

Overview

John Otis “J.O.” or “Jo” Brew (1906-1988), archaeologist, worked at the Harvard Peabody Museum and taught as Peabody Professor of American Archaeology and Ethnology, spending his career at Harvard from 1928 until his retirement in 1972. The collection includes correspondence and related papers, teaching materials, research and subject files, biographical materials, and reprints and pamphlets.

Dates

  • Creation: 1923-1993 and [undated]

Creator

Researcher Access

The Papers of J.O. Brew are open for research with the following exceptions: Student and personnel records are closed for 80 years. Restrictions are noted at the series and folder level; please see reference staff for details.

Extent

10.75 cubic feet ((23 document boxes, 4 half-document boxes, 2 record cartons, 1 folder) )

The Papers of J.O. Brew document his career as an archaeologist, museum administrator, and educator. The collection contains correspondence and related papers, teaching materials, research and subject files, biographical materials, and reprints and pamphlets.

The correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters related to students, Peabody Museum staff, and Brew’s professional activities. Among the types of organizations represented are professional societies, social clubs, research institutions, museums, foundations, government agencies, and various Harvard offices. There is also correspondence with fellow archaeologists Cynthia Irwin-Williams and Watson Smith.

Brew’s teaching files contain materials from Brew’s Department of Anthropology television courses. The Lowell Institute lecture material includes correspondence, typescripts of lectures, program notes, and illustrations for Brew's lectures on "Museums and their Role in the New England Community."

The biographical materials include letters of appreciation and congratulations, reviews of Brew's publications, correspondence with publishers, invitations to lecture and job offers, news items, and reports. Brew's subject files include materials related to Dumbarton Oaks, the Fruitlands Museum, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and Newport Tower.

The collection also contains records created by Brew as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Values Study at the Peabody Museum. This series includes correspondence, memoranda, research proposals and reports, financial material, and other documents pertaining to the administration and research activities of the study.

Biographical note on J.O. Brew

John Otis “J.O.” or “Jo” Brew (1906-1988), archaeologist, worked at the Harvard Peabody Museum and taught as Peabody Professor of American Archaeology and Ethnology, spending his career at Harvard from 1928 until his retirement in 1972.

He received his BA in Fine Arts from Dartmouth College in 1928, then prepared for his PhD in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he’d been awarded a Thaw Fellowship. After completing his residence requirements in 1931, Brew was invited to join the Peabody Museum's Claflin-Emerson Expedition in northeastern Utah. That same year, he was made director of the Museum’s Southeastern Utah Expedition to Alkali Ridge; his published work on this expedition is still studied and cited by archaeologists. Brew continued to conduct many field research expeditions throughout his career. Some of the most notable include the 1934 Harvard Irish Mission, the 1936 to 1939 Awatovi Expedition, and the 1949 to 1954 Upper Gila Expedition.

In 1941, he completed his PhD and was appointed the Peabody’s curator of southwestern archaeology; he then became curator of North American archaeology in 1945. In 1948, he was appointed director of the Peabody Museum, a position he held until 1967. In addition to his museum and research work, Brew also taught, holding the position of Peabody Professor of American Archaeology and Ethnology from 1949 until his retirement in 1972.

Brew was also involved in many professional organizations; he was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the executive council and a trustee of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, and served as president of the Society of American Archaeology. Brew also became actively involved with the National Park Service Advisory Board and UNESCO’s International Committee for Monuments, Historic Sites, and Archaeological Excavations, for which he was chairman for many years. Brew died in 1988.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in nine series:

  1. Correspondence and related papers: Persons, (1923) circa 1936-1977 (HUGFP 28.10)
  2. Correspondence and related papers: Organizations, 1935-1973 (HUGFP 28.15)
  3. Lowell Institute Lectures, 1959 (HUGFP 28.25)
  4. Values Study, 1949-1958 (HUGFP 28.45)
  5. [Biographical materials], 1942-1981 (HUGFP 28.46)
  6. Correspondence, 1940-1993 and [undated] (HUGFP 28.46)
  7. Subject Files, 1948-1985 and undated (HUGFP 28.46)
  8. Teaching Materials, 1941-1948, 1956-1957 (HUGFP 28.46)
  9. Reprints and pamphlets (HUGFP 28.47)

Acquisition

Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level:

  1. Gift of John O. Brew, received June 9, 1977; Accession 8130
  2. Gift of Evelyn Nimmo Brew, received December 3, 2002; Accession 14699

Related Materials

In the Harvard University Archives:
  1. Professional papers of of J.O. Brew, 1834-1987 and [undated] (HUM 405)
  2. Correspondence and other records of John O. Brew, 1948-1967 (inclusive) (UAV 677.95.2)

In the Peabody Museum Archives:

  1. [J.O. Brew collection of lantern slides, 1930-1939, bulk] https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/pea00022/catalog
  2. Awatovi Expedition Records, 1930-1981 https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/pea00068/catalog
  3. Records of Awatovi Expedition, 1935-1939 (inclusive)

Processing Information

This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in August-September 2021. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. The collection was not re-examined by the archivist. Titles were devised by the archivist.

This finding aid contains harmful language that is now considered racist and derogatory. Contextual statements where this language appears are located at the series and item levels.

Title
Brew, J.O. (John Otis), 1906-1988. Papers of J.O. Brew, 1923-1993 and [undated] : an inventory
Status
completed
Author
Harvard University Archives
Date
August 3, 2021
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
hua64021

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461