Dalton Dorr (1846-1901) was elected secretary of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, now known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in 1880. In 1887, the title of curator was added to his duties that later culminated in the directorship of the museum in 1892. He administered these three tasks until 1899. Dorr enjoyed traveling. The “Notes of travel made from memoranda in old diaries” (B D735) is a hand-written account of recollections of his excursions. Written in the winter of 1897-1898, the journal presents details of “A Pleasure cruise in Greenland” in the summer of 1869 with marine painter William Bradford, Massachusetts photographers John Dunmore and George Critcherson, and arctic explorer and physician Dr. Isaac I. Hayes. Dr. Hayes’ published work, The Land of Desolation (1872), gives a full description of the Panther’s voyage north along the island’s west coast. From March 1872 to April 1873, Dorr explored “The Indian territory, Colorado and the Pacific Coast” including the Mojave reservation, Fort Yuma, Arizona City, San Diego and San Francisco. Other places noted include trips to Paris (1873), England, Scotland, and Ireland (1882-1884), and a Continental trip (1885). Referenced in the journal, “Under the midnight sun” (919.8 D73u) is the companion bound folio of albumen prints by Bradford, Dunmore and Critcherson of Greenland. The 92 photographs, with hand-written captions, reflect arctic landscapes, native houses, Norse ruins, glaciers, icebergs, bears, and Inuits. The picturesque representations have scientific as well as ethnographic value. A manuscript map of Davis Strait and the west side of Greenland, shows the route of the 1869 Bradford expedition in red.
From the guide to the [Under the midnight sun]., Circa 1869, (American Philosophical Society)
