William Bell Dinsmoor Processing History

William Bell Dinsmoor Papers (1886-1973)

The collection was donated to the American School of Classical Studies by William B. Dinsmoor, Jr., in 1978. Parts of the collection were processed by Drs. Peter Schultz and Caitlin Verfenstein, both students of Greek architecture. Dr. Leda Costaki processed the American Commission files. Finally, Dr. Eleftheria Daleziou is responsible for the finding-aid. Liz Ward Papageorgiou has processed the architectural drawings (Series IX).

Concerning the American Commission material (Series VIII), the original files were of several types. Some folders had headings given by Dinsmoor or his office staff, while other material was stored in manila envelopes and appeared to date from the time of the Commission’s activity. Other folders appeared to contain later documents. Many folders contained mixed material and were not labeled (or there was no relationship between heading and content). An effort was made to organize this mixed and loose material either thematically or chronologically. There were also a number of empty folders. The haphazard state of the original files was probably due to, some degree, to Dinsmoor’s dual role with both the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas and the American Council of Learned Societies’ Committee on the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Cultural Treasures in Europe. As a result, the American Commission collection includes letters, lectures, articles, photographs, and notes created and collected by both the Committee and the Commission. It was not always possible to distinguish between the two, so that the Correspondence in Boxes 4-6 includes material from both bodies. The material in Box 6, folders 15-20, could have been incorporated in the History Files, but it was decided to keep the History files (Series I) as found, since they preserved their original headings and seemed more intact than other parts of the collection. The History Files appear to have been arranged chronologically as well. It should be noted that while the two series are separated according to governing body thematically they should be considered as one unit.  A large percentage of the material consists of copies of original files that, most likely, Dinsmoor kept as part of his personal papers. In the Report of the American Commission, it is clear that all of the original files and records, files of cards, maps and Photo Archive Project were deposited into The National Archives at Washington. A large portion of the newspaper clippings was photocopied in acid-free paper. Finally, three folders labeled History: 1945, April, History: 1945, May and History: 1945, June were found empty and were removed.

For more information, please contact the Archivist:
Dr. Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens
54 Souidias Street, Athens 106 76, Greece,
phone: 210 72 36 313 (ext. 106)  Fax: 210 72 50 584
Contact via E-mail