University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Sara Yorke Stevenson, the first curator of the Egyptian section of the Free Museum of Science and Art, was a vital force in the creation and success of the museum. Along with William Pepper, Stevenson worked tirelessly through the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology and the American Exploration Society to gain subscriptions, build the Museum and acquire a collection of antiquities. In addition to being the first curator of the Egyptian Section, Stevenson was the Secretary of the Board of Managers and of the American Exploration Society. She served as President of the Board from 1904 to 1905. While Stevenson was performing the dual role of Secretary of the Board of Managers and Curator, the museum relied on the London-based Egypt Exploration Fund to provide a share of the findings of archaeologist W.M. Flinders Petrie to the museum. Stevenson cultivated a relationship with Flinders Petrie and well connected Egyptians such as Yacoub Artin Pasha. Mrs Stevenson traveled to Egypt in 1898 cementing connections and investigating other possible sites for exploration. The Egyptian Section Sara Yorke Stevenson records consist of two archival boxes of correspondence, collection information and financial records.

Amelia B. Edwards, a novelist and travel writer, traveled in Egypt from 1873 to 1874 to escape bad weather in her native England. Her stay in Egypt inspired the book, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile. A best seller at the time, Edwards story presented a view of nineteenth century Egypt along with descriptions of the previously unknown antiquities of the ancient civilization. After returning to England, Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole of the Department of Coins and Metals of the British Museum co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund. Its 1882 mission was to "explore, survey and excavate ancient sites in Egypt and Sudan and publish the results of this work." The work of W.M. Flinders Petrie was of great interest to the amateur Egyptologist Edwards, and she supported Flinders Petrie's appointment as successor to Edouard Naville in Egypt. Petrie arrived in Egypt in 1884 with funds from University College, London. He later became the first Edwards professor of Egyptology at the University of London. Subscriptions to the Fund came from all over the world. An office was founded in Boston to do the work of the fund in the United States. Organizations such as the Free Museum of Science and Art who subscribed to the fund were able to share in the artifacts recovered by Flinders Petrie's work. The Egypt Exploration Fund records fill one archival box. There are seven folders of correspondence and financial records including several circulars from the London and Boston offices of the Fund.

Charles H. Rosher was a trained engineer who worked with W.M. Flinders Petrie on archaeological sites in Egypt. Flinders Petrie's recommendation of Rosher as a capable engineer to the Penn and Cairo Museums resulted in his employment to remove several monuments from a site in Tanis. As a part of his duties, Rosher was charged with obtaining a permit for the work. As the permit did not materialize, Sara Yorke Stevenson of the Egyptian section of the museum traveled to Cairo to expedite the process. The diplomacy required to obtain the necessary permits and approvals from the Egyptian governing authorities proved too difficult for even Mrs. Stevenson. While embroiled in the process however, she dismissed Rosher to work for three months with Flinders Petrie to gain basic archaeological skills. As fate would have it, due to delays, Petrie was not able to meet with Rosher nor to train him. Rosher did perform some work at Dendereh and surveyed at the Tanis site. A dispute over his request for more money from the museum led to Penn accepting Rosher's resignation. The permit was never issued to Penn to excavate or remove monuments at Tanis. The Charles S. Rosher collection consists of two drawings from his time in Egypt. These tiems are oversize and kept in the map case. The first drawing, done in 1898 for the American Exploration Society shows "Details of some of the Tombs Excavated at Dendera." It is a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper. There are two small copies of the larger work that have been encapsulated. The second drawing is "Dendera Sketch Map of the Ancient Cemetery excavated by W.M.Flinders Petrie on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund". The drawing was completed by Rosher from "surveys by himself and W.M. Flinders Petrie" during the years 1897-1898. This map is also a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper.

William Pepper, originally a Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, was the visionary behind the establishment of the University Archaeological Association in 1889, and the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology in 1891, the precursors to the University Museum. The groups were composed of wealthy Philadelphians, interested in the ancient world, and capable of soliciting subscriptions to the Associations from their friends and colleagues. The University's sponsorship of an expedition to Nippur, Babylonia in 1887, financed by private funds was the impetus for Pepper to work toward the establishment of organizations to support exploration and house artifacts from the ancient world. With the need for a fire-proof building to house the finds, supported by the Trustees, College Hall was designated as the first repository in response to a request from William Pepper. By 1892, the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, was operating under an independent Board of Managers whose first President was Joseph Leidy. Pepper himself became President of the Department in 1894, working tirelessly along with Sara Yorke Stevenson, toward the funding and building of the Free Museum of Science and Art. Toward this goal, the American Exploration Society was created as an independent funding organization for the recovery of artifacts and the establishment of a museum of archaeology. The Board of Managers records consists of seven boxes of correspondence and financial records spanning the creation of the University Archaeological Association, the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, the American Exploration Society and the Museum. The records are organized first by the entities that preceeded the museum and contributed to its creation. The next group of records are organized by the tenure of the Presidents of the Board of Managers.