Articles

Coming to America: Dutch Archivistiek and American Archival Practice

---

Abstract

Most archivists acknowledge that the antecedents of archival theory in the United States were theoretical developments in France, Germany, and the Netherlands in the nineteenth century. The author describes the influence of the principles of respect des fonds from the French and Registraturprinzip from the Germans on Dutch archival development which resulted in the publication in 1898 of the Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives by Samuel Muller, Johan Feith, and Robert Fruin. The influence of the Manual and of the principle of provenance on early American archival practice is traced through the speeches and writings of Arnold J.F. Van Laer and Waldo G. Leland. The article also discusses Arthur H. Leavitt's 1940 English translation of the Dutch Manual.

How to Cite:

Rabe Barritt, M., (1993) “Coming to America: Dutch Archivistiek and American Archival Practice”, Archival Issues 18(1), 43–54. doi: https://doi.org//archivalissues.10617