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Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland

DURHAM, Mary Edith (1863-1944): Balkan notebook

IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 1446 MS 41

Held at: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland

Title: DURHAM, Mary Edith (1863-1944): Balkan notebook

Date(s): 1900-1914

Level of description: collection

Extent: 3 volumes

Name of creator(s): Durham | Mary Edith | 1863-1944 | Balkan traveller and author

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Mary Edith Durham born in London on 8 December 1863; educated at Bedford College, 1878-1882; became an artist, and trained at the Royal Academy Schools. Following illness and at nearly forty years old she travelled to the Balkans and worked as a political missionary. She first visited the area in 1900. She started travelling in search of health and was an anthropologist as well as a gifted artist. She travelled to the Balkans annually from 1900 to 1914. When uprisings occurred, in 1903 and 1909, she provided medical aid and food. Following the end of the Second World War, Durham was offered a permanent home in Albania by the Albanian Government. She refused, choosing to remain independent and settled in London writing books and articles. She died in London on 15 November 1944.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Mary Edith Durham, 1900-1914, comprise 'My Balkan notebook' which comprises detailed drawings, photographs and notes relating to her experience in the Balkans, these include 'Primitive implements', a notebook depicting boats, hearths, buildings in various Balkan districts, costumes, buildings in Serbia; notebook with Sun and moon designs, tattoos, graves in Bosnia and Albania, buildings, costumes, war mutilations in Montenegro and notebook concerning Albania depicting tribes, costumes, buildings.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Arranged into three bound volumes.

Conditions governing access:

Appointments are necessary for all visits; please contact the archivist by email to arrange; a fee of £10 is payable by all visitors except Fellows and Members; membership details can be found on the RAI web site; access to material referring to the most recent thirty years is restricted; some material is very fragile and may not be available for view; a few items are of restricted or forbidden access.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopies and scans for personal research only may be arranged at the discretion of the archivist; charges apply; in all cases forms governing use of copies must be signed; use of digital cameras is not allowed.

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Hand list available in the Institute's Reading Room.

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented to the archives on 14 September 1987.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Entry compiled by Samantha Velumyl.