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Archive for October, 2023

An Inside Look at Processing a Collection: The R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner Papers

Posted in Archives, Manuscripts, News, Still Images, Uncategorized on October 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

-contributed by Emily Gainer, Assistant Processing Archivist/Special Collections Librarian.

In 2022, the Archives of the History of American Psychology received nearly 500 boxes of papers, films, photographs, and computer hard drives and disks from the estate of R. Allen Gardner. These papers document the Gardners’ unique research on communication with cross-fostered chimpanzees. This is one of the largest collections we have received at the Archives and it provides an excellent opportunity to see how our whole team collaborates in the intake and processing of any given collection that arrives on our loading dock.

The R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers are now open for research. CCHP staff and student assistants have digitized and made over 3,400 still images from this collection available.

History

R. Allen (1930-2021) and Beatrix T. (1933-1995) Gardner started Project Washoe in 1966. During this study, the Gardners cross-fostered the chimpanzee Washoe and taught her to communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Washoe was raised in a trailer in the Gardners’ backyard in Reno, Nevada. The study ended in 1970.

A photograph of a young chimpanzee with her finger pointing to her nose. A human hand is holding a flower in front of the chimpanzee. The chimp is wearing a white, blue, and yellow striped tshirt and a diaper. She is sitting outside on a brick patio.
Washoe signing “flower”, 1968. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8061, Folder 4.
A photograph of a chimpanzee sitting on the cement with her hand holding the door handle of a glass door. The profile of a man wearing glasses, khaki pants, and a red shirt is on the right side. The chimpanzee has one arm bent across her chest.
Washoe signing “please”, 1970. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8059, Folder 11.
A photograph of a chimpanzee wearing a blue shirt. Washoe, the chimpanzee, is opening the door of a blue and white trailer.
Washoe exiting her trailer, 1970. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8060, Folder 1.
A photograph of a woman with short dark hair wearing a brown jacket is fed a long leaf by a chimpanzee.
Washoe and Beatrix T. Gardner, 1970. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8060, Folder 10.
A photograph of a man with a beard and glasses and navy blue shirt with his head close to a chimpanzee. It is a head-and-shoulders view of both the man and chimpanzee.
Washoe and R. Allen Gardner, 1970. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8060, Folder 7.


In 1972, the Gardners began a second study. The study is less well-publicized, but possibly of greater scientific significance. The Gardners began with days-old chimpanzees, carried out rigorous testing and documentation, and worked with human companions fluent in ASL. The second study involved a total of four chimpanzees over nine years. These cross-fostered chimps, raised at a ranch in Reno, included:

  • Moja who lived with the Gardners from 1972-1979,
  • Pili who lived with the Gardners from 1973 until his death in 1975,
  • Tatu who lived with the Gardners from 1976-1981, and
  • Dar who lived with the Gardners from 1976-1981.
A photograph of a chimpanzee looking directly at the camera. She is holding a blue blanket and sitting on a red striped couch.
Moja, 7 years old, 1979. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8130, Folder 79-9A.
A photograph of a small chimpanzee sitting on a plaid couch and looking at a binder of images. A woman with short dark hair is partially out of frame on the left side.
Pili and Beatrix T. Gardner looking at picture/stimuli books, 1975. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8131, Folder 21.
A black and white photograph of an infant chimpanzee. It is an up-close view of the chimpanzee's face and arm.
Infant Tatu, 1976. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8133, Folder 10.
A photograph of a man with a moustache wearing a tan hat, tan vest, and plaid shirt is sitting next to a chimpanzee. The man is holding a cup and the chimpanzee is holding bread. They are sitting outdoors.
Tatu and R. Allen Gardner, 1978. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8128, Folder 78-7A.
A photograph of a man with dark hair holding a young chimpanzee. They are both wearing red winter coats. There is a blue car in the background and mountains in the distance.
Dar and human companion, Jim Rimpau, 1978. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8128, Folder 78-1C.
A photograph of two chimpanzees sitting outdoors on yellow leaves. The chimp on the left is holding her hand out toward the other chimp who is drinking from a yellow canteen.
Tatu signs “Gimme” to Dar, who drinks from canteen, 1980. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8130, Folder 80-11B
A photograph of a chimpanzee looking at a magazine. The chimp has his left hand touching his lips. He is in a playroom with a tire swing in the background.
Dar signing “Food” while looking at a bread slice pictured in a magazine, 1981. From the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, Box M8130, Folder 81-3A.

Processing timeline:

Spring 2022: Donation of 496 boxes from the Gardner estate arrive at the CCHP.  Rhonda Rinehart and Emily Gainer appraise, sort, rebox, and move materials to storage.

September 2022: Emily begins archival processing, which involves organizing, preservation rehousing, and creating a finding aid to make these materials open to researchers.

Winter 2022: Emily identifies series and organizes 300 boxes into those categories. Further appraisal is performed with consultation from Cathy Faye.  Student assistants help with refoldering, labeling, and reboxing materials.

Spring 2023: Series identification and organization continues. Preservation rehousing continues. Jon Endres begins organizing and digitizing approximately 400 reels of film.

Summer 2023: Student assistants begin digitizing and creating metadata for 3,000 photographs and slides. Jon begins assessing electronic files stored on hard drives, USB drives, CD-ROMS and other storage devices.

Fall 2023: Emily organizes the files within each series and arranges them chronologically and/or alphabetically. Emily begins writing the finding aid. Students continue metadata for photographs and slides.

October 2023: The finding aid is complete. Materials are made available and open to researchers.

A photograph of a woman with short dark hair standing in front of a shelving unit full of boxes. She is pulling a white box off of the shelf.
Emily Gainer begins processing by pulling boxes and identifying the contents.
A photograph of a male student with short dark hair sits at a desk. He is writing on a folder and holding a teal colored binder.
Student assistant Dillon Piorkowski rehouses and labels the daily logs of Moja. The original plastic binder is replaced by an acid-free folder.
A photograph of a male student assistant with short dark hair in front of a table. The table holds boxes and folders. The student is wearing white gloves and handling photographs.
Student assistant Adam Lapham rehouses and labels hundreds of chimpanzee photographs. The original envelopes are replaced with acid-free folders and paper interleaves.
A photograph of a dark haired male student sitting in front of a desk. He is wearing white gloves and handling photographs in a folder.
Student assistant Wesley Martin creates metadata for about 2,000 photographs relating to the Gardners second chimpanzee study.
A photograph of a female student with long dark blonde hair is sitting at a desk in front of a computer and scanner. She is handling photographic slides in a small yellow box.
Student assistant Maggie Mahaney digitizes and creates metadata for over 700 slides of Washoe.

Looking back on this project, it is clear that processing an archival collection of this size and scope is a time-intensive team effort. From accessioning to rehousing, digitizing, organizing, and describing, the entire Archives staff and many student assistants contribute to making the collections we receive every day available to researchers. To access materials in the R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner papers, contact our CCHP reference archivist at ahap@uakron.edu.

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Reflecting on My Semester in the Archives

Posted in Uncategorized on October 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

contributed by Museums & Archives Certificate Program student Katie Gable

The first film in the Night at the Museum trilogy came out in 2006 and my family rented it from the local Family Video shortly after its DVD release in 2007. Six-year-old Katie watched that film and never let it leave her mind. She knew she would somehow be involved with museum and archival work and fifteen years later, she made this dream a reality.

Though the people in the pictures I looked through never came to life (I attribute that to lack of movie magic), I was given the opportunity to tell their stories and bring them to life through my capstone project.

This project has been an incredible experience. Not only was I given the opportunity to work in the Archives of the History of American Psychology, but I worked under the guidance and in the company of some of the most knowledgeable staff members here.

I spent this semester working as a true archivist would, using the finding aid, searching through boxes, and going down rabbit holes. Though the work often felt tedious, with lots to sort through and many searches leading me to dead ends, I was able to accomplish a lot. An accomplishment I am most proud of is the identification of Indian professors and researchers Pars Ram and H.P. Maiti. My first blog post goes more in depth to this process, but as I reflect upon my achievement, I start to understand how amazing this discovery was. I explained that I was unable to find any photos of these men on the internet, despite being able to find photographs of some of their colleagues. With my discovery people doing future research will be able to know what these men looked like thanks to what I found in the Murphys’ still image collection. This is almost unfathomable to me, a 22-year-old, who has always been able to google anything she wanted and find the answer. With this discovery I am contributing to the answers.

I am also extremely proud of the stories I was able to tell with these images, specifically the stories of the two refugee camps that were studied. To be given the opportunity to go through these photos and understand a fraction of what the Indians in these refugee camps were going through was an extremely heartfelt and gratifying experience. I was able to find photos of the Hindu gods and goddesses they were worshiping and told me about how they were feeling and for what they were praying. By going through these images, I was able to visualize the research they were gathering about social tensions.

Gardner and Lois B. Murphy papers, box M7482, folder 14
Gardner and Lois B. Murphy papers, box M7482, folder 12

This semester I was given the opportunity to learn about and become an expert in a topic using primary sources, something very few people get the chance to do. I am beyond grateful for the ability to tell the story of the Murphys and their trip to India using physical firsthand documentation.

When I was assigned this capstone project, there was an emphasis on storytelling. The still images related to the UNESCO study in India in the Gardner and Lois B. Murphy collection tell many stories about a country trying to piece itself back together, researchers and scholars banding together to fix social tensions and heal the trauma they collectively experienced, refugees trying to start again after being displaced, and many other tales of perseverance and community. My hope is that even though I am finished with this project, myself, or someone just as curious, will revisit and be able to capture all the stories I was unable to share. Until then, I hope the research I conducted is enough to help other researchers in their understanding of the Murphys, Indian Partition, or any other relevant topic I was able to address.

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