Henry J. Van Lennep (AC 1837) Sketches and Papers, 1834-1879
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Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Amherst, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Peter A. Nelson. 2009-09-08
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Henry J. Van Lennep Sketches and Papers
Creation of Henry J. Van Lennep Sketches and Papers
Time of Creation of Henry J. Van Lennep Sketches and Papers
1 records storage box, 1 oversize flat box
Van-Lennep, Henry J. (Henry John), 1815-1889.
Biographical History for: Henry J. Van Lennep Sketches and Papers
Biographical Note Henry John Van Lennep (AC 1837), a noted 19th-century Christian minister, missionary, writer and educator, was born in Smyrna (present-day Izmir, Turkey) in 1815. In 1830 he was sent to the United States for his education. He prepared for college at Mount Pleasant Institute, Amherst, Mass., and Hartford (Conn.) Grammar School. After graduating from Amherst College in 1837, he attended Andover Theological Seminary for one year, then studied with Rev. Joel Hawes in Hartford and was ordained a Congregational minister in 1839. He served as a missionary with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions for twenty-nine years beginning in 1840, in Smyrna (1840-44 and 1863-69), Constantinople (1844-54), and Tocat (1854-56). Van Lennep traveled extensively throughout the region of western Asia and Egypt. After losing his sight from cataract in 1869, he returned to the United States. He taught as a professor of natural sciences and languages at Ingham University, a women's college in Le Roy, New York (1876-78), and subsequently was co-principal, with his son E.J. Van Lennep, of the Sedgwick Institute, a small private boarding school in Great Barrington, Mass. Van Lennep was proficient in numerous languages and was also a skillful artist, sketching (in pencil or pen and ink) scenes from his extensive travels. Many of his drawings appeared in published works, which include The Oriental Album: Twenty Illustrations, in Oil Colors, of the People and Scenery of Turkey, with an Explanatory and Descriptive Text (1862); Travels in Little-known Parts of Asia Minor: with Illustrations of Biblical Literature and Researches in Archaeology (1870); and Bible Lands: their Modern Customs and Manners Illustrative of Scripture (1875). He also executed several drawings for Professor Edward Hitchcock, including his Geology of Massachusetts (1841) and Illustrations of Surface Geology (1860). Van Lennep was married three times: to Emma L. Bliss (1839-40), Mary E. Hawes (1843-44), and Emily Ann Bird (1850-?). He had six children. Van Lennep died in Great Barrington, Mass., in 1889.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The bulk of the collection consists of pencil sketches and watercolors of scenery, people and artifacts, chiefly Turkish but also some American. In addition, a small amount of personal papers include passports related to his travel as a missionary in Turkey, a notebook of sermons written by Van Lennep in Armenian, and portrait photographs.
There is no restriction on access to the collection for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Alumni Biographical Files - Class of 1837 - Van LennepHistorical Manuscripts Collection (four letters and one valedictory address)Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers (12 letters)Miscellaneous artifacts collected by H. J. Van Lennep (transferred to the Mead Art Museum, 2009)
Turkey -- Social life and customs.
lcsh
Missionaries -- Turkey.
lcnaf
Sedgwick Institute.
series
Series 1: ARTWORK
Series 1, ARTWORK, consists of eleven bound sketch albums and numerous other sketches on loose sheets, made by Van Lennep when he lived as a missionary in Turkey. Most are pencil on paper, with some in watercolor, and depict people, scenery, and objects. One scrapbook includes not only artwork, but also several articles written by Van Lennep in 1876.
Portrait of young girl - pencil sketch (in frame) 1834
Pencil sketches, loose ca. 1844
The American barque "Sonia," Capt. Henry King, entering Boston Bay (framed) 1849
Sketch: "View of Bebek," Constantinople 1851
2 watercolor sketches, [Constantinople] 1851, n.d.
Sketch album: "Plan et modeles" 185[9?]
Sketch album no. 3 1859
Sketch album no. 6: "Cahier de dessins de Chasses" 1859
Sketch album: "Copies" 1861
Pencil sketch: boulder, Whitinsville [Mass.?] 1863 Aug 24
Sketch album: "Voyages," Marseilles 1863-1864
Pencil sketch: vineyard 1864
Sketch album no. 9 1864
Sketch album 1864-1865
Sketch album no. 8 n.d.
Hedgehog study - watercolor n.d.
Watercolor drawings of Turkish people n.d.
Pencil sketch album n.d.
Sketch album: artifacts, pottery, ancient sculpture, etc. n.d.
Watercolor drawing: child with cane (framed) n.d.
Scrapbook containing 1876 articles by Van Lennep and undated pencil sketches 1876, n.d.
Pencil sketch: carpet pattern n.d.
2 watercolor drawings: miscellaneous scenes n.d.
Series 2: PAPERS
Series 2, PAPERS, chiefly includes passports, a notebook of sermons in Armenian, and portrait photographs.
Miscellaneous printed matter, including Dutch passports (1869) and prospectus for Sedgwick Institute, Great Barrington, Mass. (1879) 1869-1879
Notebook: sermons in Armenian - vol. 1, Tocat 1859-1860
Photographs: portraits of Henry van Lennep and brothers ca. 1840-1885
Sheet of various wax seals [post-1862]
Book: Travels in Little-Known Parts of Asia Minor: with Illustrations of Biblical Literature and Researches in Archaeology, by Henry J. Van Lennep (London: John Murray, 1870) [duplicate copy; see also catalogued copy at 915.2 V26t Arch/SpColl] 1870