Photographs possibly made by George McGhee depicting people, dwellings, carvings, masks, and ceremonies in Papua New Guinea. The collection also includes an album of photographs portraying artifacts purchased by McGhee from dealers in New Guinea; McGhee's collection of artifacts was donated to the National Museum of Natural History along with these photographs. There is also a report, possibly written by McGhee, describing the yam ceremony in Maprik.
George Crews McGhee (1912-2005) was a geologist and United States diplomat. He worked with oil companies in the United States and established his own McGhee Production Company before joining the U.S. foreign service after World War II. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (1952-1953), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs during the Kennedy Administration and U.S. Ambassador to West Germany (1963-1968). During the 1970s, McGhee purchased artifacts from Papua New Guinea, the Trobriand Islands, New Britain, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu from dealers in New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
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Photo Lot 2003-08, George Crews McGhee photograph collection relating to Papua New Guinea, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Donated by George C. McGhee to the National Museum of Natural History in 1994 in accession 390923. Transferred to the National Anthropological Archives in 2002.
Artifacts collected by McGhee held in the anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History, in accession 390923.