Adolph F. Bandelier Biography

Questions on this topic? Just ask!

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Adolph F. Bandelier

As a pioneer of historical, archaeological, anthropological, and ethnological studies of the Southwest, Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier has a secure place in the intellectual history of late-nineteenth-century America. His one novel earned him even greater eminence, for, as Stefan Jovanovich says, "On publication in 1890, The Delight Makers was quickly recognized by anthropologists and archaeologists as a classic of both science and literature." In Southwest Heritage: A Literary Heritage with Bibliography (1972) Mabel Major and T. M. Pearce argue that "The Delight Makers will remain without rival among the nineteenth-century creative works dealing with the American Indian." "Taken strictly as literature," Jovanovich argues, "The Delight Makers can stand comparison with some of the better works of late-nineteenth-century naturalist fiction."

Bandelier was born in Bern, Switzerland, on 6 August 1840, the son of Adolph Eugene Bandelier and Marie Senn Bandelier. Perhaps because of his foreign background, some accounts of Bandelier's early life contain erroneous information.

Read the rest of this Biography with our Adolph F. Bandelier Access Pass.