Kit cap

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kit S. Kapp (born August 4, 1926 in Cincinnati , USA ; † November 23, 2013 ) was an American ethnologist , explorer , cartographer and art collector.

Life

Kapp grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio . Towards the end of the Second World War he was drafted into the US Army, but only served in northern Japan after the surrender of Japan . It was there that he first came into contact with the Ainu culture , which prompted him to collect ancient Ainu artifacts . While studying at the University of Cincinnati , he traveled through Mexico to Costa Rica and interviewed the presidents of Nicaragua and Guatemala . After graduating in 1950, he bought his first sailing boat and, despite lacking sailing experience, made various trips to the Caribbean islands and Central America .

Kapp was known among colleagues and friends for his thirst for adventure and daring. He made his first trip to South America not by ship, but with an old Ford Model A , with which he was caught in a hail of bullets during the then numerous Nicaraguan uprisings and he drove the vehicle home, which was covered with gunshot holes. Kapp was also a passionate mountaineer and canoeist and crossed the Isthmus of Panama several times on foot .

Kit Kapp was married and had three children. He died in an accident in 2013 at the age of 87.

plant

Kapp led at least nine Explorers Club expeditions and published numerous books and studies on the indigenous peoples of Central and South America .

Working as a researcher

Kapp's cartographic interest was primarily in the region of the West Indies , Central and South America. He researched and cataloged historical cartographic material and worked it up scientifically. He also made extensive maritime surveys and created sailing maps of the regions around Panama , Columbia , Honduras , Venezuela and the British Virgin Islands .

Ethnologically, he made a special contribution to his studies of the Panamanian tribe of the Kuna . From 1969 to 1972 he worked intensively on the textile art of the Kuna. In this context, he cataloged and systematized around 5000 Molas according to design and quantitative criteria. His book Mola Art from the San Blas Islands , first published in 1972, is one of the few works that deals with the ritual cult of the indigenous people living in the Guna Yala (also: San Blas ) region and builds a bridge between religious rites and artistic rites Expressions of the tribe.

collection

On site he discovered the traditional textile art of the Kuna tribe, the so-called Molas, and over the years acquired an extensive private collection , which also included numerous antique maps. In 1967 he exhibited his map collection in Jamaica , where he met his future wife Valerie, whom he married shortly afterwards in Cartagena . The collection passed into the possession of his wife after his death. In the years before his death, the couple had already started auctioning off large parts of their card collection. Further auctions followed after his death.

Publications (selection)

  • Kit S. Kapp: The printed maps of Jamaica up to 1825, (Map collectors' series, vol. 5, no. 42) . Bolivar Press, 1968.
  • Kit S. Kapp: The early maps of Panama up to 1865 . Map Collectors' Circle, 1971.
  • Kit S. Kapp: The early maps of Colombia up to 1850 . Map Collectors' Circle, 1971.
  • Kit S. Kapp (Author), Black & White Illustrations (Illustrator): Mola Art from the San Blas Islands . KS Kapp Publications, 1972.
  • Kit S. Kapp: Central America Early Maps Up To 1860 . KS Kapp Publications, 1974.
  • Kit S. Kapp: Printed Maps of Central America up to 1860 . Map Collectors' Circle, 1975.
  • Kit S. Kapp: A Cruising Guide to the Caribbean and the Bahamas . Sheridan House, 1976. ISBN 9780396072843
  • Kit S. Kapp: The printed maps of Central America up to 1860 (Map collectors' series) . KS Kapp Publications, 1974.
  • Kit S. Kapp: Maps and Views of the Hispanic West: An Historical Cartobibliography of New Spain, California and Mexico, 1524-1860 . Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1987. ISBN 978-0946323098
  • Kit S. Kapp: Central American early maps up to 1860 . KS Kapp Publications, 1993

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Kit S. Kapp's Obituary on Herald Tribune. Retrieved April 18, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Untold Stories of Map Collectors - In Memoriam of Kit S. Kapp . ( campaign-archive2.com [accessed April 18, 2017]).
  3. ^ A b The Explorers Club - About. Retrieved April 18, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Flag Expeditions
  5. ^ A b Eliane Dotson: The Life and Work of Kit Kapp . Ed .: Old World Auctions. PDF, 2013.
  6. ^ The Library of Congress (ed.): Maps and Atlases . tape 25 , no. 1 . Washington 1971.
  7. ↑ Maria Seidl: Ge / layers in the course of time. The Molasammlung of the Museum für Völkerkunde Vienna. Ed .: University of Vienna. 2009.
  8. ↑ Südwest Presse Online-Dienst GmbH: Textile body images . In: swp.de . June 16, 2012 ( swp.de [accessed April 19, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Kapp, kit
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kapp, Kit S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ethnologist, explorer, cartographer and art collector
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati , USA
DATE OF DEATH 23rd November 2013