By Lesley Parilla, Field Book Project
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William and Lucile Mann in British Guiana on a collecting trip for the National Zoological Park (1931). RU 7293 |
Lucile Quarry Mann Feeding Tiger Cub, Babette (1949). RU 371 |
When cataloging, I find that I identify with some of the creators of collections more than others. Sometimes it is due to a similar background or a familiar characteristic, for example, a fascination with travel. I live a bit vicariously through my spouse and colleagues whose jobs take them to unusual destinations, and I enjoy that many of the people whose work the Smithsonian documents traveled extensively and during dynamic moments in history.
It is not uncommon in our archival records to find references to work done by a researcher’s spouse (usually a wife), who may have accompanied and assisted during far flung travels. Few though, have as strong a voice in the collections as Lucile Mann, wife of National Zoo Director William Mann. William Mann worked for the Smithsonian, becoming the Superintendent of the National Zoological Park in 1925, and served as Superintendent and Director of the Park until his retirement in 1956. He had a gift for orchestrating expeditions, which were often major collecting events, covering broad geographic areas, and with great publicity. He was involved with the Smithsonian-Chrysler Expedition to East Africa (1926); to British Guiana (1931); the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the East Indies (1937); to Brazil and Argentina (1939); and the Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia (1940).
Lucile Mann had a varied career before assisting her husband in his role as Director and collector for the National Zoo. She worked for a short time in military intelligence, as an assistant editor for the Bureau of Entomology, USDA, and later as editor of the Woman Home Companion in New York. From 1951-1971, she worked in the administrative offices of the Zoo, and edited Tiger Talk and Spots and Stripes.
During William Mann’s early career, he personally recorded information about his collecting trips. Eventually, the role of recorder was taken over by Lucille, who often accompanied him on expeditions and helped to care for and feed animals collected for the Zoo. The Manns documented each of their trips and experiences using a variety of formats, including diaries, scrapbooks, and photo albums. Detailed, typewritten records throughout provide an incredible depth to understanding what occurred during the trips. Lucille’s background in editing has a clear and beneficial effect on the careful, and at times witty, captions found throughout. The myriad details of their personal travel are also captured through restaurant menus, ship’s passenger lists, and photographs of friends. These personal details are interspersed with photographs and written accounts of indigenous peoples, collecting challenges, and traveling during the oncoming Second World War.
William Mann inspecting the Buffalo crate on ship to Argentina. (1939). RU 7293 |
William Shippen, journalist for Washington Evening Star who covered Mann’s trip through Argentina. (1939). RU 7293 |
Some of the photographs included here are from a scrapbook of Mann’s collecting trip to Argentina in 1939. This scrapbook documents conditions of zoos across Argentina, visits with zoo officials, and animals collected and exchanged with zoos in South America.
William and Lucile Mann’s expeditions were often well covered in the press. Journalist William H. Shippen of Washington D.C.'s Evening Star, followed the trip and wrote a series of general interest stories relating to it. These news clippings are included in Lucile’s scrapbook, and cover a wide variety of stories, from the varying price of beef in Argentina and US, to the story of young Tom Davis, who had a threatening encounter with an escaped 20-foot python while visiting Mann’s collecting camp.
Perusing the collection in entirety reveals that Lucile displayed a keen and ongoing passion for including images and details from her unusual travels that spark imagination, display her sense of humor, and keep the material feeling fresh and immediate. This personal touch allows us to live vicariously through the records and begin to imagine ourselves in her shoes. Afterall, who doesn’t want to feed a big-eyed baby tiger cub?
William Mann pictured with Tom Davis, Argentina (1939). RU 7293 |
Part of Shippen’s series of articles covering from Mann’s trip through Argentina (1939). RU 7293 |
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