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Kjell Sandved nature photograph collection, C0020, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.
Collection donated by Kjell Sandved in 2005-2011.
Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in August 2009. Additional processing and EAD markup completed by Kristen Korfitzen in September 2011.
Kjell B. Sandved is a nature photographer who has traveled the world taking pictures of butterflies and moths. Trekking through the rain forests of Brazil and New Guinea and the jungles of the Far East, Sandved photographed butterflies in their natural habitat during the early morning and late afternoon when cooler temperatures kept them inactive. On moonless nights he attracted moths with portable mercury lights. Over the years, Sandved has found a fantastic array of shapes and patterns on butterflies including every letter of the English alphabet, smiling faces, red hearts, and animal shapes. Sandved also worked at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. During his 32 year career there, Kjell Sandved has filmed penguins and seals in Antarctica, marine life and coral reefs in the Caribbean and Pacific, excavations of Early Bronze-Age Man at the Dead Sea, social behavior of orangutans in Kalimantan, and the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia Arnoldi, in Sumatra. He lectured with the Smithsonian Associates at schools and colleges around the United States on animal behavior and nature photography. Sandved has published two encyclopedias: The World of Music and The World of Art. He has also co-authored nine books: Butterfly Magic, Insect Magic, Shells, Butterflies, Rain forest and Cloud forest, Leaves, Bark, Butterfly Alphabet, and Spiders in the Smithsonian.
This collection contains thousands of natural history slides taken by nature photographer Kjell B. Sandved. Spanning a 20 year period, the slides represent the bulk of Kjell B. Sandved's work from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. Included are slides of flowers, fish, sea anemone, and hundreds of butterfly slides with identification information--family, genus, species, vernacular name, and locality--individually listed. In addition to insects and animals, the Kjell B. Sandved collection includes numerous landscape slides and images of people and objects representing cultures from around the world. Slides in the collection demonstrate a wide variety of photographic technique including wide angle shots, close cropped shots, aerial photography, microscopic photography, and underwater photography. Included with the slides is an original copy of Kjell B. Sandved's The Butterfly Alphabet and promotional material associated with his published works and his commercial photography.
Series 1 contains over one thousand Kodachrome slides of plants. The bulk of the series includes domestic, European and tropical flowers. Also represented are several types of tree, cactus and grass. Included within this series are slides of fungus. Images of flowers, trees, and fungus are categorized by family and species. The series contains over a hundred slides of orchids representing a wide spectrum of distinct orchid species. Slides of anthropomorphic plants are similar to those published in Kjell B. Sandved's books.
Series 2 contains several hundred slides of insects. Comprised of mostly moth and butterfly photography, the series also contains a wide variety of beetles as well as snails, mites, ants, weevils, worms and dragonflies. Many photographs from Kjell B. Sandved's published works such as The Butterfly Alphabet are represented in this slide collection. Photographs of moths and butterflies include full body depictions but also Sandved's familiar faces and letters found in their wings. The majority of slides are labeled with family, genus and species as well as their common name. Slides in this series are organized by family and type.
Series 3 is comprised of over 200 slides of landscape photography. Traditional landscapes, urban landscapes and seascapes represent Kjell B Sandved's extensive travels. The series contains numerous slides of the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as photographs of urban areas in south east Asia and the United states.
Series 4 contains hundreds of slides of animal photography. Represented in the series is a variety of species from around the globe. Subjects include domesticated animals such as cats, pigs and cattle, a large collection of animals indigenous to Africa, arctic penguins, and a variety of sea life. The series contains a large collection of Coral images including florescent corals. The series also represents a variety of photographic techniques including underwater photography, microscopic photography, and black light photography.
Series 5 contains general photographs spanning a 20 year period of Kjell B. Sandved's career. Included in the series are numerous photographs of museum artifacts and museum displays documenting Sandved's work as a scholar at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History. The series also includes a large collection of photographs of people from around the world. Many pictures of school children, indigenous tribes, and tourists represent the people Kjell B. Sandved met and interacted with during his extensive career. Also included are images of transportation, monuments and miscellaneous photography. Grouped with Series 5 is an original copy of Kjell B. Sandved's book The Butterfly Alphabet and promotional material for his other published works and Butterfly Poster series.
Organized into five series:
Special Collections and Archives also holds the
Kjell B. Sandved owns and maintains his own website
Series 1 contains 1,045 Kodachrome slides picturing various plant life such as tropical plants, orchids, trees and fungus. Slides which are labeled are organized by family and species. Slides that are not labeled are grouped together.
20 slides: Flowers and trees; acanthaceae through agricoles
20 slides: Flowers and trees; alangiaceae through apocynaceae
20 slides: Trees; apocynaceae through araceae
20 slides: Flowers; araceae through asapagus
20 slides: Flowers and trees; asclepiadaceae through beloperone
20 slides: Flowers and trees; beloperone through bougainvillea
20 slides: Flowers and trees; bougainvillea through bromeliaceae
20 slides: Trees; bromeliaceae
20 slides: Flowers, trees and cactus; bromeliaceae through cactaceae
20 slides: Flowers, trees and cactus; cactaceae through calotropis
20 slides: Flowers and trees; calotropis through citrus Limon
20 slides: Flowers and trees; chamaecyparis through cruciferae
20 slides: Flowers, trees, and fruit; crinum through cyperaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees: datura candida through epidendrum
20 slides: Flowers and trees; epiphytic through euphorbiaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees, euphorbiaceae through forbidden fruit tree
20 slides: Flowers, trees and fungus; fouquieriaceae through maresmius
20 slides: Fungus and flowers; gazania through graminae
20 slides: Flowers and trees; Graminae through Gynura
20 slides: Flowers and trees: haemodoraceae through ipomoea indica
9 slides: Flowers and trees; iris through liliaceae
38 slides: Flowers and trees; leguminosae
13 slides: Flowers and trees; lenticles on tree through lilium tigrinum
20 Slides: Flowers and trees, limonium latifolium through mammillaria gummifera
20 slides: Flowers and trees; mangifera indica through musaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees; musaceae through myrtaceae
20 Slides: Flowers and trees: myrtaceae through myrtus
20 slides: Flowers and fungus; myxomycete through nymphaceae
20 slides: Flowers; nymphaea through arachnis hookeriana orchid
154 slides: Orchids; arundina graminifolia through vanda miss agnes
20 slides: Flowers and fruit; oxalis through pelargonium
20 slides: Flowers and trees; peperomia through portea petropolita
20 slides: Flowers; portea petropolita through ranunculaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees; ranunculaceae through rubiaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees; runnia sarmentosa through solanaceae
20 slides: Flowers and trees; solanaceae datura through strongylodon
20 slides: Flowers and trees; sunflower through venidium fastuosum
20 slides: Flowers; yellow flowers through zingiberaceae
6 Slides: Flowers; zingiberaceae
145 Slides. Several slides of bright tropical flowers, trees, and leaves. All slides are unlabeled but some are dated. Includes slides of palm trees, orchids, and marine plants.
Series 2 contains several hundred Kodachrome slides of insects including hundreds of slides of moths and butterflies. The series also contains some photographs used for Kjell B Sandved's The Butterfly Alphabet and Butterfly Posters. Insects are grouped by type and family.
20 slides: Beetles; paussidae through chrysomelid
20 slides: Beetles and butterflies; coleoptera through helicondiae
44 slides: Butterflies; heliconidae through satyridae
16 slides: Moths, cockroaches, and flies; cenuchidae through cranefly
20 slides: Moths, flies and katydid; ctenuchidae through tettigoniidae
20 slides: Koa Bug, mites and moths; scutelleridae through geometridae
103 slides: Moths; arctiidae through sphingidae. Includes portraits of Kjell B. Sandved with moths.
17 slides: Spiders, snails, stink bugs, ticks, and tree hoppers; psocoptera through membracidae
15 slides: Tree Hoppers, wasps, weevils, worms: membracidae through sabellastarte
20 slides: General insect photos including butterflies, moths, walking sticks, beetles, and dragonflies.
Series 3 includes pictures of different landscapes. Pictures in this series cover subject matter from all over the world, including photography of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, and urban China. Slides in this series are grouped by area.
20 slides including pictures of the Grand Canyon, African desert, Alaska, and Antarctic.
20 slides including pictures of the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Borneo, and Australia.
20 slides including pictures of Australia, China, Connecticut, Costa Rica, the Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos Islands
18 slides of the Great Barrier Reef. 2 slides of Hawaii.
20 slides including pictures of Hawaii, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and Jordan.
20 slides including pictures of Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, New Guinea, New Zealand, New England, and North Carolina.
20 slides including pictures of Norway, Nova Scotia, Oregon, and Pago Pago.
20 slides including pictures of Panama, Portugal, Sabah and Sri Lanka.
18 slides including pictures of Tanzania, Venezuela, US Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington DC.
22 unidentified slides including pictures of Asian, European and Ancient architecture and pictures of various beaches, huts, and a desert scene.
13 unidentified slides including pictures of a harbor, beaches, the sky, huts, and a store front.
Series 4 contains hundreds of slides of animal photography. Included are pictures of domestic animals such as cats and livestock, as well as wild animals from a variety of different habitats. Series 4 includes a large collection of marine life photography slides which have been grouped together by family.
20 slides of animal photography, including: birds (albatross, anhinga and black skimmers), fruit bats, African buffaloes, and cape hunting dogs.
20 slides of animal photography including: Cape hunting dogs, cattle, cranes, cheetahs and dolphins.
20 slides of animal photography including: dolphins, birds (ducks and doves), and elephants.
18 slides of animal photography including: elephants, frogs, lizards (geckos and Galapagos lizards), gazelles, and gibbons.
30 slides of giraffes.
4 slides of animal photography including: Goats, and gorillas.
10 Slides of the greater kudu. 2 Slides of forked tail gull.
2 slides of forked tail gull.
21 slides of the hartebeest.
20 slides of animal photography including: birds (hawks and herons) hippopotamuses, horses, and iguanas.
20 slides of animal photography including: iguanas, impalas, jaguars, kittens and leopards.
20 slides of animal photography including: leopards, lions, lizards.
20 slides of animal photography including: llamas, birds (macaws, mockingbirds, owls and ostrich) orangutan and opossum.
20 slides of animal photography including: ox, pandas, pangolin, birds (penguins and parrots), and pigs.
20 slides of animals photography including: pigs, pit vipers and wild ponies.
20 slides of animal photography including: wild ponies, pythons, seals, sparrows, dogs (Sharpaei) and terrapin.
20 slides of animal photography including: tigers, titmouse, topi and turtles.
17 slides of animal photography including: turtles and wildebeest.
30 slides of zebras.
33 slides of unlabeled and unidentified animals including lizards, birds, zebras, lions, penguins, and antelope like animals.
20 slides of ocean animals including: amphipod, bivalve, chitons and boxfish.
1 slide of a conch.
26 slides of coral.
13 slides of ocean animals including: crabs and cowry.
20 slides of ocean animals including: crabs, crayfish, discus fish, dolphins, eels, guppies and jellyfish.
20 slides of ocean animals including: jelly fish, limpets, lobsters, lion fish and nudibranch.
20 Slides of ocean animals including: nurse shark, octopus, piranhas, Portuguese man o' war, marine worms, and scallops.
32 slides of various species of anemone.
8 slides of ocean animals including: sea cucumbers, sea hares and sea horses.
20 slides of ocean animals including: sea horses, sea urchins, tube worms, shrimps and sea walnut.
20 slides of ocean animals including: X-Mas tree worms, sea sponge, squid, star fish, and triton.
7 slides of ocean creatures including: shells, worms and limpets, triton, and frogs.
5 slides of unidentified and unlabeled animals including a shark, a small fish and lobsters(?)
Series 5 contains general photography. Images include museum objects, people, transportation and unidentified photographs. Included is a copy of Kjell B. Sandved's The Butterfly Alphabet and promotional material associated with his publications.
48 slides of various museum objects mainly from the Smithsonian Museums. Objects include Native American and other cultural artifacts, drawings, dioramas, and fossils.
2 Slides of Shells
3 Slides of lighthouses and lights from lighthouses
4 Slides of Bamboo structures, bridge and cages
2 Slides, one of Sandved's first lab in Hawaii and one of Sandved carrying equipment
44 Slides of People including: School children, people on boats, the crew of a hydroplane, scientists, people on the street
12 Slides of various buildings including: Po Lin Monastery, a railroad station, a tree house and Mexican home
6 Slides of ice and snow on plants and roads
3 Slides of boats
4 Slides of land erosion and land
4 slides of a flower show, autumn leaves, and insect on flowers.
2 slides of totem poles
12 slides either unidentified or not able to be categorized including: a picture of fireworks, details of insects(?) a barrel of corn.
An order form for Butterfly Alphabet posters and Sandved's Animal Posters
4 Promotional 5'' x 3'' animal photographs signed by Kjell B Sandved
Copy of The Butterfly Alphabet by Kjell B Sandved, published Scholastic Inc. 1999. Includes butterfly bookmark and promotional letter introducing Butterfly posters
A floppy disk containing 17 digital photos and a MS Access database inventory. Available for viewing in the reading room.