Halsted B. Vander Poel Campanian collection - Calisphere

Series II. Tatiana Warscher papers, 1912-1997, bulk 1924-1960
Series II.A. Letters, 1924-1997, bulk 1924-1947
INVENTORY OF THE HALSTED B.
VANDER POEL CAMPANIAN
COLLECTION, circa 1570-1997
Series II. Tatiana Warscher papers, 1912-1997, bulk 1924-1960
Physical Description: 39.9 linear feet
Scope and Content Note
Tatiana Warscher (variant form Warsher) was born in Moscow on 18 June 1880. From 1898
to 1901, she attended the Women's College of the University of St. Petersburg, where she
was a student of Michael Rostovtzeff. In 1921, Warscher fled from Russia and the aftermath
of the Revolution. Leaving Dorpat where she had been working as a teacher, she went first
to Berlin and then to Paris, where she again met Rostovtzeff in 1923. He encouraged her to
move to Rome and to study Pompeii, an interest of hers since a summer spent in Italy in
1911.
By 1924, Warscher had followed Rostovtzeff's advice. She devoted the rest of her life to the
study of Pompeii, either working independently or as Rostovtzeff's assistant. Indeed,
Rostovtzeff, either directly or indirectly, appears to have provided much of Warscher's
financial support in the late 1920s and 1930s. In this same period, Rostovtzeff was also
providing intellectual support. By October 1931, if not before, Rostovtzeff was guiding
Warscher's research toward a project which would develop into the "Codex Topographicus
Pompeianus," a massive work intended to document every structure in Pompeii. The first
volume of this work was produced circa 1935, and Warscher continued working on the
project throughout her life.
Also at the urging of Michael Rostovtzeff, Tatiana Warscher shifted from casual photography
of Pompeii to systematic documentation of the site. Her resulting photographic collection is
important for its breadth and its detailed archaeological focus. Her photographs, shot over a
span of almost fifty years, record structures and details of the site that are now lost, due
either to the Allied bombing of Pompeii in World War II or to the general weathering and
disintegration of the remains through time. Although Warscher did not have the skills of a
professional photographer, she used an archaeologist's eye to document the general
architecture of structures, as well as details of stonework, paintings and mosaics. These
photographs provided the material for her densely illustrated manuscripts and they were
also a source of income. Warscher sold her images of Pompeii to the photographic archives
of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut in Rome.
Halsted Vander Poel met Warscher in Rome in the late 1950s. She encouraged his interest in
Pompeii and in many respects he became her intellectual heir. Most of Vander Poel's Pompeii
projects, ranging from his excavations at the Casa di Meleagro to his planned new edition of
Helbig's classic work on the paintings from the site, found their roots in Warscher's research.
Vander Poel was bequeathed Tatiana Warscher's papers when she died in Rome on 2
December 1960.
Much of the material presented in this subseries lacks a specific date and individual items
are therefore marked as undated. However, Warscher's own material dates from circa 1912
to 1960. Vander Poel's additions, when lacking a specific date, can be dated in the general
range from circa 1960 to 1997.
Arrangement
The Tatiana Warscher papers are arranged in six subseries by type of material. A limited
amount of additional Warscher material is scattered in subsequent series where it was
integrated into Vander Poel's materials.
2002.M.16 130