Archives

Our holdings document important areas of DMNS history: fieldwork and excavations, exhibits, Museum administration, the building, and information on other Museum collections of Anthropology, Earth Sciences, Education, and Zoology. We also hold important archival collections from outside donors related to the Museums’ specimens, research, and mission over the past 125 years. Our collection strengths include paleontological excavations by curators and staff; the study of ancient people of the North American continent; nature, landscape, and wildlife imagery; and museum development and administration. These topics are represented in a variety of formats: over 2000 linear feet of text and paper documents; over 700,000 images; dozens of 3-D objects; nearly 2600 rare books; and several terabytes of digital files.

We welcome you to search descriptions of this content in our online collections database and view and request materials in DMNS Digital Collections. For more information on accessing and using the DMNS Archives, please see our Research Request page and Use, Copyright, and Permissions page.

With over 5000 linear feet of records and photographs, we preserve the stories behind how museum staff, anthropologists, and scientists conducted research, designed exhibits, pursued initiatives, and developed programs.

Our records tie back to the earliest days of the museum, starting with the original specimen slips for the collection that inspired the creation of the museum – the taxidermy collection of Edwin Carter. Carter’s field notes are modest scraps of paper with dates and measurements of each specimen collected, and are the first catalog of the Museum’s first collection. Spanning from Carter’s original notes, today we acquire and manage contemporary digital records and images documenting the work and accomplishments of Museum staff and volunteers.

Building History: A visual and documentary record of the Museum’s transformation from its original 1903 structure to the expansive complex it is today. Includes early blueprints, architectural renderings, and construction photographs from each era of renovation and expansion. Films and images also show how the Museum has shaped—and been shaped by—its place in Denver’s City Park over more than a century.

Exhibits and Dioramas: Images and planning documentation for the Museum’s permanent and temporary exhibits such as Prehistoric Journey, dioramas, Space Odyssey, Ramses II (1987), and Body Worlds 2 (2006). Also includes documentation on deinstalled exhibits such as Hall of Ancient Mammals and North American Indian Cultures Hall. The Archives holds historic objects from the Museum’s past that help tell the story of the institution, its work, and the people that made it happen; such as equipment used to make dioramas, the projector from the first planetarium, and a sculpture of an ancient giant ground sloth named Harlan.

Fieldwork and Excavations: One hundred years of iconic fieldwork spanning from the Folsom Site discovery in the 1920s to the Teen Rex discovery in 2023. Images, field notes, and films from decades of regional and international expeditions including the Dent Site, Magic Mountain, Botswana, and Snowmass.

Museum Administration: From the earliest founding documents and correspondence to modern digital files, these records trace the leadership and daily operations of the Museum since 1900. Materials include annual reports, publications, Board of Trustees files, and the work of past directors. Also preserved are records of educational and school programs, as well as photographs capturing staff at work and visitors experiencing the Museum through the decades.

Scientific and Research Collections: Archival documentation that complements the Museum’s vast scientific collections, from original accession ledgers and field catalogs to images taken by staff photographers. Includes materials on the history of specimen preparation and taxidermy at the Museum, offering insight into evolving scientific practices. These records reflect the institution’s role as both a center of research and a steward of natural and cultural heritage.

Alfred Bailey Lecture Films:  Museum Director from 1936-1969, Bailey made motion pictures of his travels around the world which he later presented in Phipps Auditorium and in a local weekly television series. Incudes over 25 reel-to-reel films, some of which are available digitally.

Jesse H. Bratley images: This collection includes several hundred photographs taken between 1895 and 1903, documenting daily life at Cantonment Boarding School, Rosebud Indian School, and Hopi Day School. Jesse H. Bratley, a U.S. Indian Service teacher from 1893 to 1902, captured scenes of Indigenous students and members of Hopi, Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Havasupai, and Hualapai. The Archives is committed to ethically stewarding this collection and is developing plans for a reparative description project in alignment with the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials. This effort seeks to provide more accurate, respectful, and community-informed descriptions of the images.

Ruth Underhill papers and photographs: This collection holds the papers, photographs, motion pictures and sound recordings of Ruth Murray Underhill. Ruth Underhill was an anthropologist who primarily studied the Nations of the American Southwest. She wrote numerous books on Native Americans and helped to dispel many myths about their culture. She also was a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Denver and assisted the Museum with its anthropology exhibits in the 1950s and 1960s.

Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski images: Consists of thousands of high-quality professional digital and film images of wildlife, nature, and conservation largely in the western United States, from the 1980s-2010s. Areas of focus include the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, San Luis Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Wyoming’s Red Desert.