Stewart Culin
Encyclopedia
Stewart Culin was an ethnographer
and author interested in game
s, art
and dress. He believed that similarity in gaming demonstrated similarity and contact among cultures across the world.
, a well-regarded boy's school in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. While he had no formal education in anthropology
, Culin played a role in the development of the field. His interest began with the Asian-American population of Philadelphia, then composed chiefly of Chinese-American laborers. His first published work was an 1887 article entitled The Practice of Medicine by the Chinese in America. In 1889 Culin published a report about Chinese games, an 1890 article about Italian marionette
s was inspired by a visit to a marionette theater in New York
.
, held in Chicago during 1893. As an assistant curator, Culin organized several game-related exhibitions. In addition, 1891 saw the publication of two papers. The first treated the street games of city boys, the second dealt with Chinese gambling games, providing explanations of Fan-Tan
and Pak Kop Pin). At the World Exposition, Culin met Frank Hamilton Cushing
. The two became friends and endeavored to create the first cumulative documentation on the world's games.
In 1892 Culin became Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Paleontology
. Married on March 18, 1893 to Helen Bunker, Culin published on the games exhibit at the 1891 Chicago exposition.
Korean Games, with comparisons to those of other Asian cultures, were the topic of Culin's first book, published in 1895. This work was inspired by Cushing, then of the Bureau of American Ethnology of Washington. Culin became interested in chess and card games and published a paper on the topic in 1886. He worked with Cushing on an article called Arrow games and their variants in America and the Orient. When Cushing became ill, Culin continued the work and eventually published three inter-related papers: American Indian Games (1898), Hawaiian Games (1899) and Philippine Games (1900). After Cushing's death in 1900, Culin published a revised version of American Indian Games in 1903.
in New York
. He began a series of collection expeditions to study Native Americans in the Southwest and California. Culin accumulated a large body of artifacts in the course of his career. Meticulous in their description, Culin captured "the maker, use of the object, social position of the seller, the circumstances of purchase, the provenance
". He also exchanged letters with Franz Boas
and George Dorsey. In 1907 Culin unified his 14 years of theories and ideas in the seminal work "Games of North American Indians", using the categories games of skill and games of chance to organize the work.
After 1907, Culin became interested in decorative art such as costume, fashion, and furniture. Working with Women's Wear magazine, he displayed contemporary fashion, changed museum rooms and created traveling exhibits to exhibit textiles and foster the study of design. As a curator at the Brooklyn Museum, Culin was instrumental in opening exhibits on the major cultures of the world. In the midst of a number of collecting expeditions to Africa, China, Japan and Europe, Culin married Alice Mumford Roberts in 1917.
In the 1920s Culin made several collecting expeditions to Europe and published on Asian games, African games and European dress. Well known in the worlds of anthropology, ethnography and the fashion industry, Culin died in 1929.
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
and author interested in game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and dress. He believed that similarity in gaming demonstrated similarity and contact among cultures across the world.
Early life
Born Robert Stewart Culin, a son of Mina Barrett Daniel Culin and John Culin, in Philadelphia, Culin was schooled at Nazareth HallNazareth Hall
Nazareth Hall was a school in Nazareth, PA. It was built in 1754 in hopes that Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf would return from Europe and settle permanently in the community; he never came back to America...
, a well-regarded boy's school in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. While he had no formal education in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, Culin played a role in the development of the field. His interest began with the Asian-American population of Philadelphia, then composed chiefly of Chinese-American laborers. His first published work was an 1887 article entitled The Practice of Medicine by the Chinese in America. In 1889 Culin published a report about Chinese games, an 1890 article about Italian marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
s was inspired by a visit to a marionette theater in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
World of games
Active in several ethnographic organizations during the late 1880s, Culin became involved with the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, held in Chicago during 1893. As an assistant curator, Culin organized several game-related exhibitions. In addition, 1891 saw the publication of two papers. The first treated the street games of city boys, the second dealt with Chinese gambling games, providing explanations of Fan-Tan
Fan-Tan
Fan-Tan, or fantan is a form of gambling game long played in China. It has similarities to roulette.-History:Fan-tan is no longer as popular as it once was, having been replaced by modern casino games, and other traditional Chinese games such as Mah Jong and Pai Gow. However, it was once a...
and Pak Kop Pin). At the World Exposition, Culin met Frank Hamilton Cushing
Frank Hamilton Cushing
Frank Hamilton Cushing was an American anthropologist and ethnologist...
. The two became friends and endeavored to create the first cumulative documentation on the world's games.
In 1892 Culin became Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Paleontology
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, commonly called The Penn Museum, is an archaeology and anthropology museum that is part of the University of Pennsylvania in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:An internationally renowned...
. Married on March 18, 1893 to Helen Bunker, Culin published on the games exhibit at the 1891 Chicago exposition.
Korean Games, with comparisons to those of other Asian cultures, were the topic of Culin's first book, published in 1895. This work was inspired by Cushing, then of the Bureau of American Ethnology of Washington. Culin became interested in chess and card games and published a paper on the topic in 1886. He worked with Cushing on an article called Arrow games and their variants in America and the Orient. When Cushing became ill, Culin continued the work and eventually published three inter-related papers: American Indian Games (1898), Hawaiian Games (1899) and Philippine Games (1900). After Cushing's death in 1900, Culin published a revised version of American Indian Games in 1903.
Brooklyn Museum
In 1903 Culin resigned from the University of Pennsylvania and became curator of Ethnology at the Institute of Arts and Sciences of the Brooklyn MuseumBrooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He began a series of collection expeditions to study Native Americans in the Southwest and California. Culin accumulated a large body of artifacts in the course of his career. Meticulous in their description, Culin captured "the maker, use of the object, social position of the seller, the circumstances of purchase, the provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
". He also exchanged letters with Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
and George Dorsey. In 1907 Culin unified his 14 years of theories and ideas in the seminal work "Games of North American Indians", using the categories games of skill and games of chance to organize the work.
After 1907, Culin became interested in decorative art such as costume, fashion, and furniture. Working with Women's Wear magazine, he displayed contemporary fashion, changed museum rooms and created traveling exhibits to exhibit textiles and foster the study of design. As a curator at the Brooklyn Museum, Culin was instrumental in opening exhibits on the major cultures of the world. In the midst of a number of collecting expeditions to Africa, China, Japan and Europe, Culin married Alice Mumford Roberts in 1917.
In the 1920s Culin made several collecting expeditions to Europe and published on Asian games, African games and European dress. Well known in the worlds of anthropology, ethnography and the fashion industry, Culin died in 1929.
Writings
Journal Articles by Culin, Stewart:- (1889). Chinese Games with Dice. Philadelphia: Oriental Club of PhiladelphiaOriental Club of PhiladelphiaThe Oriental Club of Philadelphia is one of the oldest continuously-active academic clubs in the United States. It was founded on April 30th, 1888, with the aim of "bring[ing] together those interested in the several fields of Oriental study, for the interchange of ideas, and the encouragement of...
. 21pp. - (1890 March). Italian Marionettes. Journal of American Folklore, 155-157.
- (1891). Gambling Games of the Chinese in America. University of Pennsylvania Series in Philology, Literature and Archaeology 1 (4). 17pp.
- (1891). Street Games of Boys in Brooklyn. Journal of American Folklore 4, 221-237.
- (1893). Chinese Games with Dice and Dominoes. Annual Report of the U.S. National Museum 1893, 491-537
- (1893). Exhibition of Games in the Columbian Exposition. Journal of American Folklore vol. 6, no. 22, 205-227.
- (1894). Mancala, the National Game of Africa. Annual Report of the U.S. National Museum 1894, 597-606
- (1896). Chess and Playing-Cards. Annual Report of the U.S. National Museum 1896, 665-942.
- (1898 October). American Indian Games. Journal of American Folklore, 245-252.
- (1899). Hawaiian Games. American Anthropologist (ns) 1 (2), 201-247.
- (1900). Philippine Games. American Anthropologist (ns) 2, 643-656.
- (1903). American Indian Games. American Anthropologist (ns) 5, 58-64.
- (1920 October). Japanese Game of Sugoroku. Brooklyn Museum Quarterly 7, 213-233.
- (1924 October). Game of Ma-Jong. Brooklyn Museum Quarterly 11, 153-168.
- (1925 July). Japanese Swinging Bat Game (paper). Brooklyn Museum Quarterly 12, 133-150.
- (1925 July). Japanese Game of Battledore and Shuttlecock. Brooklyn Museum Quarterly 12, 133-150.
Books
- Culin, Stewart; University of Pennsylvania Press(1895). Korean Games With Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan. (Ed. 1958/1960) Games of The Orient. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. 177 pages. (Ed. 1991) Korean Games With Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan. Dover Publications. 256 pp. ISBN 0-486-26593-5.
- Culin, Stewart (1907). 24th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology: Games of North American Indians. Washington DC: US gov Printing Office. 846 pp. (rev. ed. 1975 ) Dover Publications. 867 pp. ISBN 0-486-23125-9. (1994) University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-6357-0
Biographies
- Bronner Simon J. (1985)"Stewart Culin, Museum Magician." Pennsylvania Heritage 11, no. 3 (Summer), 4-11
- Bronner Simon J. (1989) Object Lessons: The Work of Ethnological Museums and Collections, in Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods in America, 1880-1920, ed. Simon J. Bronner, 217-254. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Lawrence, Deirdre E. (1989 July). Culin: Collector and Documentor of the World he saw
See also
- MancalaMancalaMancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia...
- DiceDiceA die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
- MahjongMahjongMahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
- Chinese origin of playing cardsChinese origin of playing cardsChinese Origin of Playing Cards is an article on the origin of playing cards written by H.B.M General-Consul in China and Korea Sir William Henry Wilkinson, and published in the American Anthropologist magazine by the American Anthropological Association under the auspices of the American...
- William Henry WilkinsonWilliam Henry WilkinsonSir William Henry Wilkinson was a British Sinologist who served as Consul-General for H.B.M in China and Korea...