Biography of Nelson R. Perry
Nelson R. Perry was born on March 28, 1894. Nelson R. Perry was an avid collector of Eskimo art buying many of his pieces from author and documentary filmmaker James Houston. As a field reporter and photographer for the Junior Natural History magazine Perry wrote articles about Eskimo life and included photographs of Eskimo art collection in them. In October of 1963, the Schenectady Museum hosted an exhibit of 350 pieces of Eskimo art from his collection. While living Bronxville, New York he was an active member of the Explorer’s Club and a Regional Manager for the Met Life Insurance Company. On September 24, 1964, he suddenly died while on a trip to London, England.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
This collection had no apparent order when it came to Mystic Seaport. It has been arranged chronologically by subject in the following series:
Series 1: Eskimo life and culture; 1937-1962
Series 2: Arctic wildlife; 1852-1963
Series 3: Polar exploration; 1949-1963
Series 4: Miscellaneous; 1939-1963
Series 5: Oversized material; 1867-1913
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Amundsen, Roald, 1872-1928
Cook Frederick A., 1865-1940
Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin), 1856-1920
Perry, Nelson R., 1894-1964
Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868-1912
Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1920
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Charles W. Morgan (Ship : 1841)
Nautilus (Submarine : SS-168)
Skate (Submarine)
Triton (Submarine)
Places:
Alaska
Antarctica
Arctic
Bronxville (N.Y.)
Subjects:
Eskimo Art–20th century
Eskimos
North Pole–Discovery and exploration
South Pole–Discovery and exploration
Document Types:
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc)
Maps–19th century
Maps–20th century
Photographs
Occupations:
Explorers– Antarctic regions–1900-1920
Explorers– Arctic regions–1900-1920
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative Information
Coll. 290, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Series 1: Eskimo life and culture; 1937-1962 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | “Origin of the Eskimo”; 1937-1961 (24 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | “Origin of the Eskimo”; 1954-1961 (15 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Religion; undated (18 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Language; undated (4 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Magazine and newspaper articles; 1947-1959 (37 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Magazine and newspaper articles; 1952-1957, undated (36 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Dogs and sleds; 1819-1960, undated (57 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Caribou and Caribou Eskimo; 1949-1957, undated (36 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Housing; 1951-1954 (23 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Clothing and sunglasses; 1955-1959, undated (41 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Boats; 1941-1963, undated (18 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Sketches and Canadian-National Film Board photos of daily life; 1949, undated (30 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Carving, and painting; 1937-1962 (41 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Art catalog, Junior Natural History publication; 1955-1959 (8 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 2: Arctic Wildlife; 1852-1963 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Sea Elephant, walrus, original pencil sketch of walrus tusk; 1957-1961 (51 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Musk Ox; 1852-1954, undated (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Salmon and Trout; 1952 4 pieces | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Polar and Brown Bear; 1952-1962, undated (92 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Animals and American Museum Natural History guides; 1946-1963, undated (90 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Narwhals; 1954, undated (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Birds; 1952-1963 (65 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Whales, whaling, Mystic Seaport and the CHARLES W. MORGAN; (Ship : 1841) 1948-1967 (87 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 3: Polar Exploration; 1849-1963 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Magazine and newspaper articles; 1949-1963 (50 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Magazine and newspaper articles; 1950-1963 (23 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Magazine and newspaper articles; undated (39 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Explorers; 1862-1962 (64 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | NAUTILUS, SKATE and TRITON (submarines); 1959-1960 (18 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | DEW (distant early warning) line and submarines; 88 pieces (88 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Maps: Arctic and Antarctica; 1943-1960 (6 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 4: Miscellaneous; 1939-1963 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 8 | Alaska; 1949-1963, undated (52 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 9 | Alaska; 1956-1963, undated (51 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Alaskan statehood; 1959 (42 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | Siberia, Russia, and Bering Sea; 1939-1963 (53 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Greenland and Labrador; 1812-1963, undated (82 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Illustrations from “Salamina”; 1935-1963 (32 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Icebergs and ice islands; 1953-1963, undated (56 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Northern lights; 1947, undated (11 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Fossils, glacial period, and “On the Cause of the Glacial Period”; 1890-1962 (12 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Search for early man; 1950-1963, undated (41 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | South American hunting Bola; 1933-1963, undated (29 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Research notes; undated (60 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Background ideas for Arctic exhibit; undated (45 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Book jackets, papers and magazine articles; 1953-1961, undated (27 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 5: Oversized materials; 1867-1913 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| OFM | 15 | The Sphere (French), 1867 lithograph, maps 1867-1909 (23 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 16 | The Sphere (English), Robert Falcon Scott; 1906-1916 (25 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 17 | The Sphere (English), Robert E. Peary, Sir Ernest H. Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen; 1913 (33 pieces) | ||||||||||||