Meet Bill, Billy, Will, and William

Yesterday, I worked through a finding aid for anthropologist Carleton S. Coon (1904-1981). Coon's legacy in the place of American anthropology is highly contested and I'm interested in his influence on other scholars who worked with human remains.

It turns out Coon was highly fond of nicknames. As a historian, I strongly dislike nicknames. Nicknames make it hard to keep track of individuals and narratives, especially when they are used inconsistently or without reference to a full name. Imagine my feelings when I read the following from Coon's finding aid.

"Identification of the person with whom Coon is corresponding is not always clear. In much of the correspondence, the writer failed to give his last name (obviously being well acquainted with Coon). Then, too, Coon seems to have been very fond of nick-names, which were often used instead of a person's real name. By comparison with other letters, it has been possible to identify many of the writers lacking a full name. Further complicating matters, Coon seems to have had many friends with the same first names, particularly: Bill (14), Ted (6), Fred (5), and George (4)."

For the record, I have a few acquaintances named Bill (7) and Ted (2) myself (at least according to Facebook).

Hat tip:

The Papers of Carleton S. Coon are housed at the National Anthropological Archives.

While I'm at it, I'd also like to give a shout out to a web exhibit organized by the Human Studies Film Archive. The exhibit focuses explores The John Marshall Film Collection, which was recently added to UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In particular, the online exhibit features some interesting information about film archives more generally.