AHJ_ah11335 Inventory of the John Morris papers, 1922-1967 Morris (John) Papers Processed by D. Claudia Thompson University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2015

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort August 2013 Finding aid is in English Collection Summary Morris, John, 1895-1980 John Morris papers 1922-1967 11335 1.5 cubic ft. (4 containers) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Photographs and publications by and about a British mountaineer and explorer of Central Asia and East Africa in the 1920s-1930s. Biography of John Morris

Charles John Morris (1895-1980) was an English army officer and ethnologist. After service in World War I, he joined the British Army in India. Most of his military career was spent as a captain with the 3rd Gurkha Rifles. Because of his knowledge of the Nepali language, Morris was invited to join the first expedition to attempt to climb Mount Everest. This expedition, under the command of General Charles Granville Bruce, attempted but failed to reach the summit in 1922. On the journey back to India, Morris and the expedition photographer, John Noel, separated from the others to explore the gorge of the Arun River. In 1927 Morris and American mountaineer Henry F. Montagnier undertook an exploration in the state of Hunza in the Himalayas. Morris was promoted to the rank of major after his return to India. He resigned from the army in the mid-1930s and took a degree in anthropology from Cambridge University in 1935. Morris traveled in Bhutan in 1932, in East Africa in 1933, and in Agra and Razmak in 1934. He taught in Japan until World War II, then headed the Far East service for the BBC (1943-1952). From 1952-1958 he was controller for the BBC Third Programme.

 Scope and Content

The collection contains writings and photographs created by John Morris. Included are two books authored by Morris: Living with Lepchas (1938) and the autobiographical Hired to Kill (1960). Also included are monographs about the Himalayan region of South Asia and a scrapbook of news clippings about John Morris and his writings. In addition the collection contains dissertations Morris wrote for his graduate studies at Cambridge University about social life in Nepal. Also included are photographs and negatives of East Africa, India, Ceylon, Thailand, and the Himalayan region (including Nepal, Hunza, and Bhutan). There is also a file of photographs from the Mount Everest expedition of 1922.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by John Morris at the date of processing.

 Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased from Charles Apfelbaum Rare Books & Collections in 1983.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by D. Claudia Thompson in January 2015.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Access Terms Mount Everest Expedition (1922) Gurkhas -- Nepal -- 20th century. Gurkha soldiers -- Nepal -- 20th century. Lepcha (South Asian people) Adventure travel -- Nepal. Adventure travel -- Hunza. Expeditions and Adventure Photographs People, Ethnicity, and Culture Social Life and Customs Africa, East -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Himalaya Mountains -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Hunza (Pakistan) -- Description and travel -- 20th century. India -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Nepal -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Bhutan -- Description and travel -- 20th century. South Asia -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Thailand -- Description and travel -- 20th century. Photographs. <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Container List Series I. Textual Materials

1 Books by John Morris: Living with Lepchas, and Hired to Kill 1938, 1960 1 Reprint: "A Bibliography of Nepal", compiled by John Morris 1931 1 Reprint: "A Journey in Bhutan", by John Morris 1935 1 Reprint: "Some Valleys and Glaciers in Hunza", by John Morris (bound with "Explorations in the Karakoram", by P.C. Visser) 1926-1928 1 Reprints: 3 articles on India and Indochina by Erik Seidenfaden 1937 1 Scrapbook of news clippings regarding John Morris 1928-1929 1 Theses by John Morris: "An Outline of Social Life in Central Nepal" and "Social Life in Nepal", for King's College, Cambridge University 1931, 1935 Series II. Photographs and Negatives

Sub-series 1. Photographs

1 East Africa (5 folders) 1933 1 Himalayan Region (4 folders) 1920s 1 Hunza (1 folder) 1927 1 India - Tribeni, West Bengal (4 folders) 1935 1 Living with Lepchas (12 folders) 1937 1 Miscellaneous - People, England, etc. (1 folder) 1937-1967 1 Mount Everest Expedition (1 folder) 1922 1 Nepal (3 folders) circa 1920s-1930s 1 Nepal - Portrait Shots of Young Men (1 folder) circa 1920s-1930s 1 South Asia (4 folders) circa 1920s-1930s 1 Thailand - Bangkok, Chiengmai, etc. 1937 Sub-series 2. Negatives

3 Ceylon, Thailand, Unidentified (rolled negative strips) circa 1930s 2 East Africa, Agra, Razmak, Bhutan (negative strips) 1932-1934 2 Himalayan Region, South Asia, etc. (negative strips) circa 1930s 4 Hunza (individual negatives) 1927 4 Living with Lepchas, Himalayan Region, etc. (individual negatives) circa 1920s-1930s 2 Military Gathering - British (negative strips) undated 2 Nepal - Portrait Shots of Young Men (individual negatives) circa 1930s 2 "Pre-Gurkha", Gurkha, Himalayan Region, etc. (individual negatives) circa 1920s-1930s