Hello, My name is Charley Scull and I am working as a Research Assistant at
the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver.  Along with Carol Mayer I am researching the Museum's "Burnett
Collection".  Although today our museum is best known for its First Nations
artifacts and works, and its European Ceramics gallery, the original
collection was a series of Oceanic objects gathered by Frank Burnett.
        Burnett was a Scottish born, sailor, farmer, and entrepreneur who
immigrated to Canada in 1870 and travelled throughout the South Seas
collecting objects from 1895 to 1920.  In 1927 (three years before he died)
he donated more than fifteen hundred objects to our University.  However,
since this initial generous donation, very little work has been done on
Burnett or his collection, and so my summer project has been to a)find out
more about Burnett and his collection b) find out what other Canadian
Museums have Oceanic collections, and if so of what age and how they were
aquired (i.e. archival information on the collectors themselves) c) To look
at the nature and climate of private collecting and collectors in the turn
of the century time period.
        I have already found out a fair amount about Burnett himself, and
also about some of the other Canadian Museums which have Oceanic collections
through a CHIN search.  One, now well known, collection is the Robertson,
Vanuatu collection at the Redpath Museum in Montreal as described in an
excellent book by Barbara Lawson "Collected Curios: Missionary Tales from
the South Seas" (McGill University Libraries 1994).
        Any information about Oceanic collections (even outside of Canada),
or suggestions of good background reading material on late nineteenth-early
twentieth century collecting and collectors (we are treating the
realationship between the collector and the collection as a critcally
important one) would be greatly appreciated. If you have any suggstions
whatsoever or can think of anyone who might, please contact me at my Email
address: [log in to unmask]

Thank you in advance,

Charely Scull
Research Assistant
Museum of Anthropology, UBC