IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 1446 MS 46
Held at: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Title: DURHAM, Mary Edith (1863-1944): 'Some tribal origins, laws and customs in the Balkans'
Date(s): [1928]
Level of description: collection
Extent: 0.5 boxes
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 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. 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, [1928] comprise corrected proofs for 'Some tribal origins, laws and customs in the Balkans', which focuses particularly on incidents and customs witnessed in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia and was published in London by George Allen and Unwin by 1928. The collection also includes additional handwritten notes and corrections.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material:
English
System of arrangement:
Arranged as in Scope and Content.
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.
Finding aids:
Hand list available in the Institute's Reading Room.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Presented to the archives 14 September 1987.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Entry compiled by Samantha Velumyl.
Date(s) of descriptions: May 2008