Access is granted in accordance with the
Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.
PROVENANCE
Transferred from Bennet Hall, 1955.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
George Aaron Barton, author, scholar, and Professor of Semitic languages.
He graduated from Haverford College, B.A., 1882 and M.A., 1885. Barton
received his Ph.D., 1891 from Harvard. He taught at the Friends School
(Providence, R.I.), 1884-1889; at Haverford College, 1889-1893; and
at Bryn Mawr, 1899-1922. Barton was professor of Semitic languages
at the University of Pennsylvania, 1922-1931 and Professor Emeritus,
1932-1942. He was also appointed director of the American School of
Oriental Research in Baghdad, 1921-1934. Internationally known for
his writings on Biblical subjects, he was also a noted scholar of
archeology, helping appraise and interpret the findings of many archeological
expeditions of the Middle East.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The George A. Barton Papers, 1903-1942, concern both his personal
life and his career. As a Professor whose interests and expertise
crossed several disciplines, his collection includes papers relating
to a variety of topics. A small portion of the collection is comprised
of Barton's personal papers including letters and essays on his personal
religious and political beliefs, book reviews, and lecture notes.
The bulk of the collection deals with the research Barton conducted
in the fields of Christianity, Archeology, and Mysticism.
Concerning the topic of Christianity the papers include: a critique
of Torrey's Aramaic theory of the Gospels; numerous notes; outlines;
and essays regarding the gospels and the life of Jesus. There are
also notes and essays on the Apocalypse, and essays and articles on
Christianity in general.
Barton's papers on archeology contain translations of texts, including
Egyptian translations and those of Gudea Cylinders, A and B; essays
on early man and Indo-Sumerian seals with illustrations; correspondence
regarding the Hittite code and archeological finds from 1927-1928;
photographs of inscriptions and tablets; and Barton's description
of Herbert Clark's archeological collection.
Documenting his interest in Mysticism are notes; bibliographies;
copies of students' papers, 1927; and an outline and notes for his
book, entitled Mysticism. There is some correspondence regarding attempts
to have the book published posthumously.
Barton's papers contain the unpublished manuscript of Mysticism (820
p., 1929), and manuscript of his published book The Royal Inscriptions
of Sumer and Akkad (578 p., 1928).