Eigenmann, Carl (1863-1927) & Rosa Eigenmann (1858-1947)
Large Archive of Correspondence, 1883-1930.
Including letters, documents, typed manuscripts, and a large group of correspondence and documents to and from their children; with approximately sixty-five pieces from or to Rosa, 1883-1930 including letters to colleagues before her marriage, letters to her husband, others in the scientific community, her parents, siblings, and children; approximately seventy letters from Carl to Rosa 1894-1925 while travelling for his work; approximately fifty-five letters received by Carl of a professional nature, including letters from Laura Clark Hubbs, Fernandas Payne, William Lowe Bryan, Barton Warren Evermann, David Starr Jordan, Max Weber, and others; a group of about twenty-five typed retained carbon copies of letters sent by Carl to various associates, and a group of typed manuscripts for publication (some with handwritten corrections and edits); a sub-archive of correspondence between Carl and William Jacob Holland of the Carnegie Museum, circa 1905-1918, sometimes contentious in nature;
[Together with] a large group of correspondence from Carl and Rosa to their children, and correspondence received from them; with domestic material, envelopes, clippings, and other allied material; hundreds of documents.
Rosa Smith Eigenmann is considered the first woman ichthyologist in the United States. She discovered a new species of eyeless fish, the blind goby or Othonops eos, living in caves beneath the Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego, California in 1879.
Carl Henry Eigenmann was a German American fish scientist who, working with his wife Rosa, identified and described 195 general (nearly 600 species) of North and South American fishes. His freshwater studies in South America are especially notable. Several of his original monographs on his travels in carbon typescripts with handwritten corrections are present in this archive. A graduate of Indiana University, he had an ongoing relationship with the college for more than forty years. Not only is Eigenmann's career and work connection with his wife documented here, all sorts of personal information, including many letters written by Rosa and Carl to their children, and letters from the children to "Ma and Pa" complete this extensive archive.
