Research

Jack L. Davis Collection

COLLECTION OVERVIEW

Collection Number: GR ASCSA JLD 088
Name (s) of Creator (s): Jack L. Davis (1950-)
Title: Jack L. Davis Collection
Date [bulk]: 1930-1950
Date [inclusive]:
Language(s): English
Summary:  The collection includes handmade dolls and embroideries made by the Near East Industries of the Near East Relief Association; and various 3D items and printed material related with the following: Greek War Relief Association, the American Friends of Greece, the Near East Relief and Industries, and the history of the ASCSA. 
Quantity: 3.30 linear meters
Immediate Source of Acquisition: Jack L. Davis, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Information about Access: The collection is available for research after consultation with the Archivist.
Cite as: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Blegen Library Archives, Jack L. Davis Collection.
Note: The collection was processed by Eleftheria Daleziou, 2018-2019.

For more information, please contact the Archives at:
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens
54 Souidias Street, Athens 106 76, Greece
phone: 213 000 2400 (ext. 425)
Contact via E-mail

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jack L. Davis is Carl W. Blegen professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and former Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (2007-2012). He has directed or co-directed regional archaeological projects in several areas of Greece, including the Nemea Valley, the island of Keos, and Messenia near the Palace of Nestor (Pylos Regional Archaeological Project), and is currently co-directing with Sharon Stocker the excavations of the University of Cincinnati at Pylos. In addition, he has directed regional studies and excavations in Albania in the hinterlands of the ancient Greek colonies of Dyrrachium/Epidamnos and Apollonia. Davis is a recognized authority in the archaeology of the Aegean Islands. He has published reports on excavations on the islands of Keos (at Ayia Irini) and Melos (at Phylakopi).

Davis is the author of "Review of Aegean Prehistory: The Islands of the Aegean" in Aegean Prehistory: A Review, a collection of papers edited by Tracey Cullen for the Archaeological Institute of America. He has also contributed to the Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age (2008) and to the Oxford Handbook of Aegean Prehistory (2010). In addition to prehistoric topics he has extended his research to cover topics concerning the history and archaeology of Greece in the Ottoman and early modern periods, and the history of the American archaeology in Greece in the late 19th/early 20th century. His publications include: A Historical and Economic Geography of Ottoman Greece : the Southwestern Morea in the 18th Century (2005); Philhellenism, Philanthropy, or Political Convenience? American Archaeology in Greece (2013); and Carl W. Blegen: Personal and Archaeological Narratives (2015).

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Jack L. Davis Collection consists of three series: Series I contains a collection of more than 70 handmade dolls, made by refugee women for the Near East Industries. Series II contains embroideries made by the Near East Industries (NEI). A selection of NEI dolls and embroideries were included in an exhibition at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens titled In the Name of Humanity: American Relief Aid in Greece, 1918-1929 (October 17, 2023- February 18, 2024). See also the Elisavet Komninou Collection about the technique used to make the faces of the dolls. Finally, Series III includes various 3D items and printed material related primarily about the Greek War Relief Association, the American Friends of Greece, the Near East Relief and the Near East Industries, the ASCSA, and Modern Greece.

CONTENT LIST

SERIES I:  DOLLS

BOX 1
01.”Mitsos”
02. “Pater”
03. No name

BOX 2
04. “Penelope”
05. “Aphrodite”
06. No name

BOX 3
07. “Penelopi”
08. No name
09. No name

BOX 4
10. No name
11. “Marigo”
12. “Odysseus”

BOX 5
13. No name [Amalia]
14. No name [Athina]
15. No name [Perihan]

BOX 6
16. “Ismet”
17. No name [Eleni]
18. “Socrates”

BOX 7
19. No name [Hasan]
20. No name
21. No name [Eleni]

BOX 8
22. No name
23. No name [Yelena]
24. “Laizka”

BOX 9
25. “Hamilear”
26. “Otto”
27. No name [Phroso]

BOX 10
28. No name
29. No name [Rebecca]
30. No name [Joseph]

BOX 11
31. “Amalia”
32. No name
33. No name

BOX 12
34. No name [Athina]
35. “Artemis”
36. No name [Pater]

BOX 13
37. “Zabel”
38. No name [Athina]
39. No name

BOX 14
40. No name [Hamilaar]
41. No name
42. No name

BOX 15
43. No name [Amalia]
44. No name [Rebecca]
45. No name [Laizka]

BOX 16
46. No name [Joseph]
47. No name [Amalia]
48. No name

BOX 17
49. No name
50. “Ismet”
51. “Roxane”

BOX 18
52. “Sophia”
53. No name
54. No name

BOX 19
55. “Costa”
56. “Vangel”
57. No name [Eleni]

BOX 20
58. No name
59. “Mitros”
60. “Philomela”

BOX 21
61. No name [Rebecca]
62. "Zabel"
63. "Eleni"

BOX 22
64. "Danae"
65. No name
66. "Marigo"

BOX 23
67. No name
68. No name
69. "Thanos"

BOX 24
70. No name
71. "Hamilear"
72. No name

BOX 25
73. "Philomela"
74. "Mitros"
75. "Emine"

SERIES II: EMBROIDERIES

BOX 1
Items 1-10

SERIES III:  3D ITEMS AND PRINTED MATERIAL

BOX 1

  1. Greek War Relief Pin [Greek War Relief Association]
  2. Greek War Relief Pin – Help Greece Now [Greek War Relief Association]
  3. Greek War Relief stamp [Greek War Relief Association]
  4. Greek War Relief matchbox [Greek War Relief Association]
  5. Pin [American Friends of Greece]
  6. Pin [American Friends of Greece]
  7. Greek War Relief stamp [Greek War Relief Association]
  8. Near East Relief tag [Near East Relief]
  9. Greek War Relief Association small sized poster [Greek War Relief Association]
  10. Three post-cards promoting Marshall plan projects in Greece [10a, 10b, 10c] [Modern Greek History]
  11. Black and White post-card probably German propaganda [Modern Greek History before WWII]
  12. Black and White post-card probably German propaganda [before WWII] [Modern Greek History]
  13. Letter from Charles Hant from Corinthto Herbert Wing (ASCSA) 18 April 1914 (post stamped) [ASCSA] [Modern Greek History]
  14. Foreign Folk Dolls Catalogue by Kimport Dolls Independence Mo.[Near East Industries]
  15. Foreign Folk Dolls Catalogue by Kimport Dolls Independence Mo. [Near East Industries]
  16. The Miss Annie S. Peck Travel and Mountain Pictures. Series 1 – Peru and Mount Huascaran The Highest Mountain on This Hemisphere. Envelope with 10 post cards. Postmarked, Providence 1908 [ASCSA]
  17. Greek War Relief pin [Greek War Relief Association]
  18. Greek War Relief pin [Greek War Relief Association]
  19. "The Medical Work of the Near East Relief" Booklet [Near East Relief]
  20. Greek Medal 1936 of "Βορειοηπειρωτικός Αγών - 1914" [Modern Greek History]
  21. Letter from the war front of a Greek soldier, dated 22/02/1913 Giannina [Modern Greek History]
  22. Letter from the war front of a Greek soldier, dated 29/12/1940  [Modern Greek History]
  23. to 33. Post cards with themes covering the Balkan Wars, WWI, Asia Minor refugees [Modern Greek History]
    34. Photo Smyrna and Harbor, North from Mount Pagus [Modern Greek History]