Series 1 - Personal and family

1.17 m of textual and graphic records

This series begins with two family monographs that Professor Shaw wrote: The Chicago Winterbothams and the Boston Shaws, 1880 to 2005 (Toronto, 2005) and that of his wife, Maria, Diaspora and Confluence: the Coutroubaki-Hazzidaki Families, c. 1850-2009 (Toronto, 2009). In Accession B2011-0007, there is also a file of correspondence from Joseph Shaw to his parents, Rue and Alfred, dated 1959-1970, including photographs from his army days and his first excavation at Kenchreai. The rest of the series consists of diaries.o

The diaries in this series (Professor Shaw variously dubbed them “diaries” and “daybooks”) begin in 1960 and end on 9 October 2008. Keeping diaries was a habit he picked up from his father. He stated “the reason for writing them was partly confessional, but also because most people, aside from myself, wouldn't care…But also digestion, for once something is absorbed consciously, that material may lead to other thoughts, even to discoveries about oneself, others, the world” [1]. Not every year is represented as Professor Shaw did not write them for some years, as in the early 1960s, and during 2003 when he was ill. The diaries contain, in addition to written entries, sketches of certain archaeological excavations, photographs (most tipped in but some loose), press clippings, letters, notes, inscriptions in Greek and some translations thereof, poems, and even drawings by his children. The photographs largely document personal and family activities and include some images of Professor Shaw as young man in 1950 (see diary for 17 June 1978 – 11 June 1979). There are some photographs of his archaeological work but not necessarily in the volumes related to the specific sites mentioned below.

NOTES

1. E-mail to Harold Averill from Joseph Shaw, 1 February 2010.

The arrangement of the diaries is chronological by accession as listed below. There are no diaries from April 1961 to December 1962, from June 1963 to May 1964, from September 1965 to May 1968, and from about 1970 to July 1974. Some describe visits to specific countries and sites: 1963: Kenchreai; 1964-1965: Zakros; 1965: Israel, Kenchreai; 1968-1970: Phylos, Kenchreai, Corinth, and Crete; and Kommos (1975-1976, 1977-1978, and 1978-1979, 2004-2008).

Loose paper items and loose photographs and negatives from the diaries are filed separately immediately after the appropriate volume.

Closed until 1 Jan 2020.