Newman, Margaret M.

We know very little about Margaret Matches (married to George Augustus Newman in 1931) beyond her trip to New Guinea in 1927 and the publication of her book Savage Paradise, which documents that experience. Born in 1898 in New Jersey, she attended Kent Place School in Summit, N. J., and prior to her trip worked for the Mentor periodical in the Correspondence Department (part of the Customer Service Division). After returning to the states, she devoted considerable time to the writing of her book, and several articles about her trip (Asia, New York Times, King Features). This seems to be the only time in her life that was devoted to professional activity, having subsequently settled in the Newark, New Jersey area with extensive involvement in the Junior League. She died in 1986.

Although her primary motivation for the trip to New Guinea was not for a systematic study of the various cultures of New Guinea (she reports a simple desire for adventurous travel) her journal, book and articles do contain attempts of descriptive observations of behavior and ritual practices of various native groups. Not being trained as an anthropologist, these observations were not subjected to any integrated and systematic interpretations. is primarily a travel narrative, and the reaction and publicity it gained seemed largely due to the view at the time of its publication that it was an unusual and potentially risky adventure for a young single woman to undertake on her own.

Her accounts did precede extensive field work in New Guinea by anthropologists; with the first systematic academic investigations of New Guinea (primarily by Margaret Mead and her husband Reo F. Fortune) undertaken shortly after (1928–1929 and 1931–1933).

From the guide to the Margaret Matches Newman papers, Bulk, 1927-1930, 1919-1959, (University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives)