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Katharine Bartlett collection, 1867-1964

MS-257

Biographical Note

George Frederick Bartlett was born in Keokuk, Iowa and spent most of his early life in Chicago. He moved to Denver around 1900 to work for the Victor American Fuel Company, a coal company that owned and operated mines in Colorado and New Mexico. Louise Erina Leedom was a teacher in Milwaukee who spent summers visiting an uncle in Denver, where she met George Bartlett. They were married in 1906 and had two daughters, Katharine and Mary Louise.

Katharine Bartlett was born in Denver, Colorado on November 30, 1907. She attended public schools, and received her AB from the University of Denver with majors in Anthropology, History, and French in 1929. She received her MA in Anthropology in 1930 from the same institution, with a thesis entitled “A Racial Classification of College Students.” In June 1930, she traveled to the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona for a summer position as the Curator of Anthropology. At the end of the summer, she was invited to stay at the Museum and live with the Coltons, the founders, which she was happy to do. This began a career with the Museum that spanned nearly 60 years, and various titles and responsibilities.

From 1930 to 1952, Katharine served as the Curator of Anthropology. She held various other titles during that time, including Curator of Archaeology and Curator of Art and Ethnology. She was also heavily involved in archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork and research, in addition to her curatorial duties of cataloging and storage of artifact collections.

In 1936, Katharine was chosen as one of six Rockefeller Foundation Museum Internes at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York for a one year study of museums and their operation. From September 1936 to September 1937, she visited many museums in the Eastern United States. The internes also spent six weeks in Europe visiting museums there, focusing mostly on newer, modern museums. As a capstone project, Katharine and her fellow internes developed an exhibit on ceramics for the Brooklyn Museum entitled “The Art and Technique of Ceramics” and co-authored a “Handbook on the Art and Technique of Ceramics” to accompany the exhibit. After her time in New York, Katharine returned to her curatorial duties at the Museum of Northern Arizona and attempted to implement some of the techniques she had learned and observed during her internship.

At Katharine’s request, in 1953 she became the Curator of Books & Records (Librarian) and Curator of History, and served in that capacity until 1974. Also in 1953, she moved out of the Colton home and to Sedona. She shared a home with Gene Field Foster, whom she had met through the Coltons in 1951. The commute to Flagstaff from Sedona proved to be too much, however, and in 1954 they purchased land in the Mt. Elden subdivision in northwest Flagstaff. Gene, who had learned carpentry skills from her father, designed and largely built their home herself. They lived there together until Gene’s death in 1983.

From 1975 to 1989, Katharine held the position of Senior Librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona. She served as a link to the early days of the institution during this period of transition from founding members to new Museum staff. After her retirement in 1989, she moved back to Sedona, where she lived until her death.

Katharine passed away at her home in Sedona, Arizona on March 22, 2001 at the age of 93.

Throughout her career at the Museum of Northern Arizona, Katharine was actively involved with numerous professional associations at the regional, national, and international level that reflected her research interests and experience. Due to her contribution to the fields of anthropology and history, she was also recognized with various prestigious fellowships and awards.

Professional and Scholarly Associations

Awards and Fellowships

Scope and Content

Collection consists of correspondence, diaries, printed material, financial documents, photographic material, research notes, manuscripts, scrapbooks, maps, charts, and audio recordings chronicling Katharine’s life and work from her years as an undergraduate student until her death. It contains information regarding both her personal and professional life. The bulk of the collection, however, focuses on her deep involvement with the Museum of Northern Arizona and her research in the fields of physical anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, and history within the Southwestern region of the United States.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

The collection contains some culturally sensitive materials, which are restricted. Please contact the archivist for information about obtaining permission to view these materials

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished and published manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Related Material

The Museum of Northern Arizona holds the following related archival collections:

Northern Arizona University Cline Library and Special Collections & Archives also hold many materials pertaining to Northern Arizona’s history and Native American cultures.

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Custodial History

The initial accession #MS-257 was donated directly by Katharine Bartlett. All other materials came to the collection from various sources through Susan Olberding. More information about the collection’s custodial history is available upon request.

Alternative Form Available

Northern Arizona University Special Collections & Archives also holds a copy of the 1976 oral history interview for the Flagstaff Public Library Oral History Project, including copies of recordings and transcripts:

NAU.OH.28.50 Oral history interview with Katharine Bartlett, May 22, 1976

Preferred Citation

Katharine Bartlett collection, MS-257 [Box Number]. Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

An initial donation by Katharine Bartlett was received in September 1980 and recorded as accession #MS-257. The remainder of the collection was donated by Susan Olberding sometime in 2005-2006 as an accrual to the initial accession.

Processing Information

Processed in September of 2012.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Other Finding Aid

A previous inventory from 2005-2006 is available upon request.

Bibliography

The following manuscripts in this collection have been published and are available in the Harold S. Colton Memorial Library at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Articles

Book Chapters

Forwards

Container List