Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Department of Mineral Sciences Search this
Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs Search this
Physical description:
35mm;
Type:
Black-and-white negatives
Date:
1968
May 21, 1968
Local number:
SIA Acc. 11-008 [OPA-1266]
Restrictions & Rights:
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
The materials in this accession document Weiss' work in the Office of Correspondence and Documents, the Department of Geology, and as Registrar for the USNM. Among
those represented in the collection are Ray S. Bassler, Alexander Wetmore, Herbert S. Bryant, and Leonard Carmichael. Of interest are two diaries of Bassler which cover the
time period from 1942-1947 and passport photographs of administrators, scientists, curators, and other individuals within the Smithsonian.
The collection is organized into the following subseries: 1) Helena Weiss; 2) Ray S. Bassler; 3) Smithsonian Institution. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, a
scrapbook, notebooks, record books, diaries, black-and-white photographs, postcards, certificates, awards, and ephemera.
Historical Note:
Raised in Shipman, Illinois, Helena M. Weiss attended the Butler Business College in Butler, Pennsylvania as well as graduated from the Wheeler Business College in
Birmingham, Alabama before she began her career as a museum registrar and administrator. Her work began as a stenographer for the Veterans Administration in 1930. A year later
she was appointed Junior Clerk-Stenographer in the Office of Correspondence and Documents (renamed the Office of Correspondence and Records in 1947) of the United States National
Museum (USNM) and in 1935 Weiss transferred to the Department of Geology. By 1948 Weiss returned to the Office of Correspondence and Records as an Administrative Assistant
and later that year would advance to Chief after the retirement of Herbert S. Bryant. In 1956 her title was changed to Registrar and she remained in that position until her
retirement in 1971.
As one of the first women managers at the Smithsonian Institution, Weiss was responsible for the central filing system of the USNM, public inquiry mail, mail service, accession
reports, loans and exchanges, shipping, foreign travel, customs regulations, insurance, and workman's compensation. During her tenure, Weiss was involved in the acquisition
of such museum specimens as the Wright Brothers' plane, "Kitty Hawk," the Hope Diamond, and the Fenykovi elephant.
Weiss, Helena M., 1909-2004, interviewee Search this
Extent:
8 audiotapes (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1987
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or student on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Weiss was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of her long and distinguished career as the Smithsonian museum registrar and an administrator, and because
of her many memories of life and colleagues in the United States National Museum.
Descriptive Entry:
The Weiss interviews were conducted by Pamela M. Henson, Historian for Smithsonian Institution Archives, and discuss her work at the Veterans Administration and career
at the Smithsonian, including her work as a stenographer for the Office of Correspondence and Documents and secretary for the Department of Geology, tenure as Registrar for
the USNM, and role as one of the first women managers at the Smithsonian. Also included are reminiscences of many colleagues, notably Ray S. Bassler, Herbert S. Bryant, Louise
M. Pearson, and Alexander Wetmore, and stories about her responsibilities for important artifacts and specimens.
This collection is comprised of eight interview sessions, totaling approximately 8.0 hours of recordings and 291 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Helena M. Weiss (1909-2004), was born on February 6, 1909, in Shipman, Illinois. She earned her clerical degree from Wheeler Business College in Birmingham, Alabama,
before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1930, where she began her career as a stenographer for the Veterans Administration. In 1931, she was appointed Junior Clerk-Stenographer
in the Office of Correspondence and Documents (renamed the Office of Correspondence and Records in 1947) of the United States National Museum (USNM) and in 1935 transferred
to the Department of Geology. She returned to the Office of Correspondence and Records in 1948 as an Administrative Assistant and later that year advanced to Chief, after
the retirement of Herbert S. Bryant. In 1956, her title was changed to Registrar and she remained in that position until her retirement in 1971.
As one of the first women managers at the Smithsonian, Weiss was responsible for the central filing system of the USNM, public inquiry mail, mail service, accession reports,
loans and exchanges, shipping, foreign travel, customs regulations, insurance, and workman's compensation. She was involved in the acquisition of such famous museum artifacts
and specimens as the Wright Brothers' plane, Kitty Hawk, the Hope Diamond, and the Fenykovi elephant. She was also a recipient of the Secretary's Exceptional Gold Service
Award.
This accession consists of Foursquare pages associated with the Smithsonian Institution. Foursquare is a location sharing service that allows page owners and users
to share information and tips about a venue. Pages include museums, theaters, cafes, and even a few exhibitions. Some pages were established and are maintained by Smithsonian
Institution staff while others were established by users or vendors. Each of the pages was crawled between February and April 2015, but may document activity back to the beginning
of the account. Not all features of the pages function properly in this accession and most of the user-submitted images were not captured. Materials are in electronic format.