New Mexico History Museum makes new Gustave Baumann collections available to researchers

Gustave Baumann and marionettes, circa 1959

Santa Fe, NM – New Mexico History Museum (NMHM) is the home for new collections about the life and work of internationally acclaimed artist and printer Gustave Baumann. Born in Germany, Baumann was an internationally noted printer and artist who settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1918. He died in 1971. 

In 2021, the Ann Baumann Trust donated a substantial collection of Gustave Baumann’s documents and photographs to NMHM. The new gift, along with previously donated Baumann material, is now open to researchers by appointment.  

The newly available papers include Baumann’s correspondence with his wide circle of friends, his annual hand-printed Christmas cards, letters between museum collections throughout the United States, photographs of Santa Fe, and the naturalization certificate he received upon becoming a United States citizen in 1904. Some of the materials were previously featured in In a Modern Rendering: The Color Woodcuts of Gustave Baumann: A Catalogue Raisonné by Gala Chamberlain and Nancy E. Green, published by Rizzoli Electa. In addition to archival materials, the donation included more than 200 of Baumann’s wood printing blocks.

“These materials provide detailed insights into Gustave Baumann’s personal relationships and business practices. They are an important resource for anyone wanting to better understand Mr. Baumann and his times,” said Billy G. Garrett, executive director of NMHM. 

The work has been spearheaded by Alice Wehling, a contract archivist working with museum staff, who processed and organized the collection, and Madisyn Rostro, a project collections assistant who catalogued and photographed the wood print blocks. Funding for this work was provided by the Ann Baumann Trust.  

Baumann family marionettes, circa 1959

Researchers, including art collectors and students of Southwestern history, can discover what’s available by browsing new finding aids that describe the organization and content of the collection. The finding aids for both the papers and photographs are now available via the New Mexico Archives Online website. Researchers who wish to see the Baumann papers should arrange an appointment with the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library; appointments to view photographs should be made with the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives. The next phase of the project will selectively digitize items from the collections and make them available online. 

Other Baumann-related materials, principally his artwork and marionettes, are included in the collections of the New Mexico Museum of Art, also a part of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.  

Spotlight: New Mexico History Museum Summer Interns

FATIMA DEL ANGEL GUEVARA: Palace of the Governors Photo Archives

Fatima working with an album in the Photo Archives processing room.

Fatima Del Angel Guevara joined the NMHM Palace of the Governors Photo Archives as one of our Summer 2023 interns. A graduate student pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, Fatima is also interested in exploring the archival field, and has worked as a research assistant at UNM’s Center for Southwest Research before starting her internship with the NMHM. She is particularly skilled at creating bilingual English/ Spanish metadata for archival collections and identified a need for bilingual finding aids on the New Mexico Archives Online platform. During her first month she at the Photo Archives, Fatima has already worked on four projects involving collections of photographs related to the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican Border War and the United States Mexican Expedition, topics she became familiar with during her Masters in Latin American Studies that she completed at UNM.  After revising and translating metadata into Spanish and English and creating bilingual finding aids for the Casasola, Musgrave, Farnsworth Photographs of the Mexican Punitive Expedition, and Views of Central America photograph collections, Fatima is currently working on rehousing and writing the metadata for a collection of photographs of Mexico. 

However, an internship at the Photo Archives does not mean it’s all work and no fun for Fatima. Asked what she enjoys the most beside getting a hands-on experience with our amazing photograph resources, Fatima’s answer was “visiting the New Mexico History Museum and the other museums in Santa Fe and getting to enjoy Santa Fe in the summer.” Does she have a hobby? Yes, hiking. And her favorite color? Green. 

MATHIEU DEBIC: Fray Angélico Chávez Library

Mathieu surveying archival collections in the Chavez Library.

Mathieu Debic is also a UNM graduate student, specializing in Philosophy and Museum Studies.  This summer internship is an opportunity for him to figure out whether library and archival work would be a good career fit for him. The Chavez Library has started to benefit from Mathieu’s skills and previous experience as a graduate fellow at UNM’s Center for Southwest Research, and he has already been involved in several projects this month. He has contributed a great deal to NMHM’s accession processing report by tracking down old accession paperwork and updating the existing documentation. He has processed several additions to existing collections and has processed and digitized the Westfall Cigar Box Label Collection, a colorful and rich archival resource, and has also written and published the finding aid. His current project involves revising the metadata for the library’s map collection. Mathieu recently joined librarian Kathleen Dull on a visit to the house of author Lucy Lippard, who is donating her research collection to the Chávez Library. Not much can come closer to a hands-on experience with collection acquisition procedures than moving sixteen boxes and reviewing inventory lists, with the added bonus of meeting the donor in person. In addition, Mathieu has started revising the periodical collection retention policies – it turns out that this has been Mathieu’s favorite project so far, as he is interested in comparing journal retention policies at an academic library vs. the Chavez Library, whose focus is more specialized and tied to NMHM’s mission and scope. Ultimately, Mathieu hopes that an updated periodical retention policy will help to free up some much-needed space on the library’s shelves to the benefit of rare books and archival collections.

Outside of work, Mathieu likes to spend some of his free time on gardening, and is grateful that Albuquerque’s climate and sandy soil allows him to experiment growing a variety of plants. Not surprisingly, given his green thumb, Mathieu’s favorite color is green.

We are fortunate to have Fatima and Mathieu share their skills and expertise with us this summer, and we hope that this internship is a rewarding experience for both of them.

1st Wednesday Lecture: Pueblo Sovereignty

In this talk, Rick Hendricks, ….and former New Mexico State Historian discusses the way in which Pueblo Indians have fought to preserve tribal sovereignty as it related to issues of land and water from the Spanish Colonial Period to the present day.

Case studies of five pueblos will be examined, four in New Mexico and one in Texas: Pojoaque, Nambe, Tesuque, Isleta, and Ysleta del Sur.

Rick Hendricks, is the New Mexico state records administrator. He is a former state historian and editor of the Vargas Project at the University of New Mexico. He has written extensively on the history of the American Southwest and Mexico. His most recent book, Pueblo Indian Sovereignty: Land and Water in New Mexico and Texas, was coauthored with Malcolm Ebright and published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2019.

Friends of History is a volunteer support group for the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its mission is to raise funds and public awareness for the Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Friends of History fulfills its mission by offering high quality public history programs, including the First Wednesday Lecture Series. For more information, or to join the Friends of History, go to friendsofhistorynm.org.

Visit the history museum at nmhistorymuseum.org

Update on the Portal Artisans Program

Visitors browsing the merchandise of the Portal Artisans Program


Like other artist markets, fairs, and festivals, the Native American
vendor program (Portal Program)
at the New Mexico History
Museum remains closed in accordance with the current Public Health
Order (PHO).
The New Mexico History Museum understands that this closure has
had a significant economic impact on program participants and their
families. We also recognize that many visitors look forward to meeting
Native vendors on the Portal and buying their work as part of their
Santa Fe experience.
The Portal Program will resume as soon as reopening is authorized.


Thank you for your patience and support of COVID Safe Practices.

Billy G. Garrett

Executive Director
New Mexico History Museum

Guided Virtual Tours Begin on Feb 10, 2021

In the interest of public health and safety due to Covid-19, in-person tours of the museum are not being offered at this time.   

Instead, docents are hosting custom virtual tours online   Each tour will last approximately 50 minutes and will be offered on the Zoom platform.   

Currently, tours are being scheduled to take place on: Wednesdays at 2 pm & Thursdays at 10 am Mountain Time

Visit our tour schedule to see the calendar of tours available and register to attend. 

Tours are free of charge, but registration is requested.   Upon registration, the online link to the selected tour will be sent by email along with instructions for joining the group. 

The Palace Press announces a “new” Gustave Baumann book!

A look at the Gustave Baumann book Indian Pottery Old and New

The Press at the Palace of the Governors

announces with great pleasure

A NEW Book by Gustave Baumann

Indian Pottery Old and New

An entry in the December 31,1919 issue of El Palacio magazine reported an exhibit of woodcut prints by Gustave Baumann. On display were pages of what the article called a “wonder book,” Indian Pottery Old and New, said to have been printed in an edition of 50 copies. That showing, and another in Chicago in 1920, were the last times the work was seen in public, and the book was little-known to collectors and admirers of Baumann’s work for nearly a century. Only a few of the fifty copies planned for that 1919 edition were completed, and no more than a dozen are found today in museum, library or private collections. In 1937 Baumann worked on a much-expanded version, and as late as 1950 he still spoke of his intent to bring out a book on Southwestern Indian pottery. So, like the book’s title, we present a book by Gustave Baumann that is both old and new. It is yet another display of the artist’s wit, ever-sharp eye and sure hand.

The block-book style text and fifteen woodcut studies of Indian pottery were carved within a year of Baumann’s arrival in Santa Fe, and we have followed the design of the booklet as he first conceived it. Variations in its black-only format were suggested by changes in his 1937 prototypes, most notably the introduction of brown background blocks carved for all of the pottery groupings. Those blocks, now in the collection of the New Mexico History Museum, are printed here for the first time. Many of the pots, so skillfully rendered, are in the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the School for Advanced Research.

One hundred forty-five copies of the book were printed by Thomas Leech and James Bourland on Baumann’s remaining supply of Arak paper made by the Whitehead and Alliger Company. That a ream of this paper remained at the time of his death in 1971 may indicate that he had been saving the paper for this very project. Handmade paper covers by Thomas Leech include Baumann’s mouse-chewed canvas tool belt (too far gone to restore), New Mexico mica, and recycled paper trimmings from some of Baumann’s other papers.

The 28-page soft cover book measures 6.75 by 8 inches and comes in a hard-cover folder made by Rosalia Galassi. The price of the book is one hundred sixty dollars, which includes  USPS Priority postage.

How to Order in the Time of COVID-19 

If you wish to reserve a copy of this book, please email your request to: thomas.leech@state.nm.us 

(For Institutional purchases, contact Thomas Leech at the above address)

However, books will be mailed only upon receipt of check, made out to:

Museum of New Mexico Foundation 

and mailed to:

Palace Press, c/o Thomas Leech

2 Casa Del Oro Loop

Santa Fe, NM 87508 

(This is a museum approved teleworking location)

Please include contact information and an address where the book will be mailed.

Fred Harvey History Weekend: Nov 12-15, 2020

The Fred Harvey History Weekend logo.

For 10 years the New Mexico History Museum has played host to the series of lectures that are a part of the Fred Harvey History Weekend. This annual event is a chance for “Fred Heads” from all over to converge on Santa Fe an regale themselves in all things Fred Harvey.

This year, the weekend event produced by MightMakesWriteLLC is moving entirely online due the COVID-19 situation we are facing.

The full roster of Harvey related talks, along with the Saturday night Foodie Dinner Demonstration* & Auction to benefit the History Museum programming with accessible with registration. has delved into the history and impact of this popular historic travel brand. This year, the event’s 11th, will be completely online, with streamed lectures, a virtual version of the highlight of the weekend, the Foodie Dinner & Auction to benefit programming at New Mexico History Museum.

For more information on the schedule of events visit:

https://one.bidpal.net/fredharvey2020/welcome

And to register to for tickets for any of the events, you can visit the event listing on eventbrite.

*The Dinner Demonstration offers an opportunity for you to learn how to prepare a contemporary take on classic Fred Harvey cuisine with top chefs from La Fonda and La Castaneda! You will receive an ingredient list ahead of time.

If you have any questions about the weekend events, please email mightmakeswritellc@gmail.com

Local favorites

US Post Office and Emilio Cordova General Store, Cordova, NM, circa 1928. Palace of the Governors Photo Archives # HP.1975.51.42

What’s your favorite New Mexico small business?

Were you the owner? Did your family run one for decades and decades? Did you work for one? Or did you just frequent a favorite shop around the corner?

The New Mexico History Museum is researching historic and modern small businesses to explore for a possible exhibition in the future.

New Mexico has many memorable and iconic establishments that would help to tell this story. In particular, we’d like to focus on sole-proprietor operations and family-owned businesses that sold goods or provided services to local communities in every part of the state.

(We’d like to avoid national chains and franchises.)

We’re looking for corner stores, tienditas, general stores, barber shops, moms & pops, cobblers, meat markets, bookstores, record stores, radio stores, repair shops, feed stores, trading posts, very small restaurants and cafes, tailors and seamstresses, laundries, bicycle shops, and so on, that were unique, characteristic, or served as anchors in their neighborhood or town.

Here’s a very simple form where you can add ideas from anywhere in the state.

https://forms.gle/wmuUvhfkVBjoyaBSA

Thanks for your help! Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested.

Pueblo Independence Day 2020

Today, August 10, is the anniversary of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. To observe Pueblo Independence Day 2020, New Mexico Historic Sites, particularly the Jemez, Coronado and Los Luceros sites are joining together to create a program of related video content.

Part of this program includes a video talk given by Matthew Barbour highlighting the religious and political context that led up to the revolt.

From the Collection

NMHM/DCA 2014.030.001 a-b. Gift of Francis H. Harlow

1940 Harley-Davidson owned by Francis H. Harlow (22 January 1928 – 1 July 2016)( The Library of Congress’s listing on Francis H Harlow.) , an American theoretical physicist and researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Harlow was also a noted expert on Pueblo pottery of the Southwest, publishing in this field as well as in physics. In fact, Harlow traded one of his favorite Pueblo pottery jars for this 1940 Harley Davidson and was known to ride it to nearby Pueblos in search of pottery. He donated his extensive collection of Pueblo pottery to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture several years before his death. In 2016, Harlow’s autobiography was published in the collection Adventures in Physics and Pueblo Pottery: Memoirs of a Los Alamos Scientist.

The photo below was featured in an 2016 Pasatiempo article about Harlow’s final book, Adventures in Physics and Pueblo Pottery: Memoirs of a Los Alamos Scientist

“Frank Harlow on his first motorcycle, a 1952 Harley-Davidson 45 side-valve flathead, photo by Patricia Harlow; courtesy of Museum of New Mexico Press”
photo of bookcover: Adventures in Physics and Pueblo Pottery: Memoirs of a Los Alamos Scientist