Putnam, Patrick Tracy Lowell, 1903 or 1904-1953

Patrick Tracy Lowell Putnam (1904-1953) was born into a wealthy and well-connected New England family. Initially an only child, his parents eventually adopted six additional children. During his undergraduate career (Harvard, 1925), Putnam studied anthropology after joining an expedition to Dutch New Guinea under the tutelage of Professor Earnest A. Hooton. Upon graduating, Putnam developed an interest in the Congo Pygmies: from 1928-1930, Putnam carried out ethnological studies in the Congo for the Peabody Museum.

In Zaire , Putnam established Camp Putnam, an important outpost located deep in the Ituri Forest . The camp enabled Putnam to devote himself to the study of the Mbuti while operating a small guesthouse for traveling Westerners and providing basic medical services to the local people. Putnam's physician father also contributed his medical skills during long visits. Patrick Putnam spent the rest of his life in Africa, gaining a reputation for knowing more about the Mbuti than any other Westerner at that time.

Although Putnam shared his knowledge of the Mbuti liberally among locals, visitors and colleagues, he never published his life work, save one short academic article. However, Camp Putnam (abandoned in the 1950's) still appears in tribute on maps of Zaire where the Transafrican Highway crosses the Epulu River.

Putnam's stormy personal life included multiple marriages and relationships. A notable early relationship included an Mboli woman named Abanzima who nursed him to health after a lengthy illness. While Putnam contemplated bringing Abanzima to the U.S., he relented upon the advice of friends, and, in 1933, married Mary Linder who accepted his life in Africa along with his mistresses. Upon the death of Mary four years later, Putnam's second marriage to Emilie Baca ended in divorce due to strains of Congo living and infidelity. Afterward, Putnam had a postwar relationship with journalist Emily Hahn, eventually marrying Anne Eisner, an accomplished New York abstract and landscape watercolorist who also became a reputable collector of African art. Anne worked alongside Patrick at Camp Putnam until his passing in 1953.

Sources: Keim, Curtis A. The King of the World in the Land of the Pygmies by Joan Mark. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 29, no. 3 (1997): 640-643 Haskell, Susan. Patrick Putnam Finding Aid. Peabody Museum, Harvard University.

From the guide to the Putnam, Patrick Tracy Lowell (1904-1953). Collection of Negatives, 1928-1930, (Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University)