Carnegie Mellon University - Andrew Carnegie Online Archives

A typescript letter from Andrew Carnegie to W.J. Holland in regards to a letter Holland sent to Carnegie dated January 22, 1908. In the letter of January 22, 1908, Holland writes about the copy of the Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) that was donated to the museum in Paris, presumably the Muse?um national d'histoire naturelle located in Paris, France. Holland states in the letter of January 22, 2008 that he has received a letter from Paris, France from the director of the museum there stating that they will be ready to receive Holland in the spring. They are having the name W. Carnegie engraved on a marble slab recognizing him as the donor. Holland assures Carnegie that he is writing to have them change the W. to A. on the slab. He asks Carnegie to let him know when he will be available to visit Paris, France in the spring for a ""pleasant formality."" Carnegie writes in response to the above mentioned letter that he is disappointed that they do not have room for the full name (presumably Carnegies name) and that he wants Holland to attend the reception in Paris in the spring and report back to him at Skibbo.

A typescript letter presumably from Andrew Carnegie to William J. Holland concerning the donation of a copy of a Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to Argentina. In the letter Carnegie states that he received a note from the president of Argentina (Sa?enz Pen?a), via the ambassador of Argentina (Ro?mulo S. Naon) requesting a Diplodocus for Argentina since Carnegie recommended one for Brazil. Carnegie (erroneously) notes there are two Diplodocus in Pittsburg and wonders if they might send the first one to Argentina, but he notes, ""I suppose it would be too valuable as being the original"". He asks Holland for his help in resolving this request by Argentina.

A typescript letter from Andrew Carnegie to William J. Holland concerning the donation of a copy of a Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to Argentina. Carnegie tells Holland that he should get the (replica) of the Diplodocus ready for Argentina and to ship it to President Saenz-Pena in Buenos Aires.

A typescript letter from C.H. Sherrill to Andrew Carnegie concerning a letter he received from Carnegie on March 21, 1911 regarding the request that Carnegie donate a cast of the Diplodocus (Diplodocus Carnegie skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to Argentina. Sherrill states that he remembers Carnegie being a delegate to the First Pan-American Conference. Mr. Sherrill regrets never having met Mr. Buchanan (William I. Buchanan) and states he was the best minister we ever had to a Latin-American country and was regarded with great affection in Argentina. Sherrill mentions Senior Quintana and remarks that other representatives of the Argentina delegation to that conference have been successful. They include: Dr Saenz Pena, President of Argentina, Mr. Quezada, Cuban Minister to Germany and Dr. Ernesto Bosch, Argentine Minister for Foreign Affairs. Sherrill finally states he is forwarding a copy of Carnegies letter to his Secretary of Legation at Buenos Aires, in order that there may be arranged a formal request for the Diplodocus from Dr. Saenz Pena.

A typescript letter from W.J. Holland, Director, Carnegie Museum, to Andrew Carnegie concerning the Carnegie Museum. Mr. Holland asks if Carnegie received his article on the Museum published in Popular science monthly and mentions that the Annals of the Carnegie Museum will ""go to the printer soon"". Holland states that the first complete account of the anatomy of the dinosaur ""Diplodocus carnegii"" (named after Andrew Carnegie) is in part I of volume I of The Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum and is at the printers. Work in the West continues with two young men collecting sea fowl in Newfoundland and Labrador. Plans are to have a complete collection of birds of North America ""in the next three or four years"". Holland relates that he has solicited funds for the Egypt Exploration Fund from local people and received money from his friends for the fund. Holland tells Carnegie that he and Mr. Franks are disappointed that they were not able to obtain the Donaldson collection (Thomas C. Donaldson) of American Indian material that was referred to them by Mr. J.M. Swank. He goes on to write that Mr. Wilson King has sent a collection of golden ornaments from Peruvian graves and Mr. Herbert DuPuy brought in a collection of Egyptian antiquities. Holland concludes the letter by stating that he has followed Carnegie's advice and taken up the sport of golf. On Carnegie Museum letterhead.

A typescript letter from W.J. Holland, Director, Carnegie Museum to Andrew Carnegie concerning collections that Mr. J. S. Jeans, Secretary of the British Iron Trade Association, has control over. They are the Sowerby collection of shells and the Calvert collection of minerals. He presumes that they ""would be of very great value to the Institute if they could be obtained"". Holland then explains that because of his efforts, Pittsburgh is the lead city for contributions to the Egypt Exploration Fund. Mr. Holland then mentions that in a letter from Professor Hatcher, Professor Marsh's ""old quarry"", in Colorado, was visited by Professor Osborn, Paleontologist of the U.S. Geological Survey and Professor Fraas of Stuttgart, Germany. Holland hopes that Mr. Carnegie will soon receive the engraving of Diplodocus. He then states that he once named a genus of African moths after Carnegie.

A typescript letter from W.J. Holland to Andrew Carnegie in reference to letters from Carnegie to Holland dated November 17 and 21, 1911. In this letter Holland makes reference to being unable to golf with Carnegie in New York the next day due to the amount of work he needs to finish in Pittsburgh, Pa. (presumably at the Carnegie Museum). In the letter dated November 21, 1911 Carnegie writes about the donation of a Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to Argentina. In the letter from Carnegie dated November 21, 1911 Carnegie (erroneously) notes there are two Diplodocus in Pittsburg and wonders if they might send the first one to Argentina, but he notes, ""I suppose it would be too valuable as being the original"". In this letter Holland explains that they have another set of casts of the bones of the Diplodocus in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum and he can have a replica of the Diplodocus made if Carnegie has his ""bursar"", (Robert A. Franks) remit to him the amounts he calls for. He then explains that they do not have two Diplodocus, only one original and Holland is shocked that Carnegie would want to send the original to Argentina. Church states that the other big beast is a bird of another feather. He compares sending the original Diplodocus to Argentina akin to King Edward donating the Kohinoor from the crown jewels to a museum. Holland assures Carnegie that he can send as many Diplodocus replicas as Carnegie wants to crowned heads and Presidents.

A handwritten letter from W.J. Holland to Andrew Carnegie concerning the cost and shipment of a replica of a Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, located in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to the National Museum in Buenos Aires (i.e. the La Plata Museum located near the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina). Holland states, per Carnegie's letter he received, the cost to make and install a replica of the Diplodocus would average around $6,000. The average cost of past replicas that were made had been $5,860 a piece. He does note that the freight to Argentina may be higher than the freight to other past destinations. Carnegie also asked how long it would take to make the replica and Holland states that it will take six weeks to make, another six weeks to get it to Buenos Aires and four weeks to mount the specimen in the museum.