Finding Aid to the Joseph S. Dixon papers MVZA.MSS.0079

Finding aid prepared by John Hickman

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives

3101 Valley Life Sciences Building

University of California

Berkeley

mvzarchives@berkeley.edu

October 2013

Descriptive Summary

Title: Joseph S. Dixon papers

Identifier/Call Number: MVZA.MSS.0079

Contributing Institution: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives

Language of Material: English

Physical Description: 11.0 Volumes

Date (inclusive): 1908-1929

Creator: Dixon, Joseph S. (Joseph Scattergood), 1884-1952

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Joseph S. Dixon Papers, MVZA.MSS.0079, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives in writing for approval. Please contact the Museum Archivist for further information.

Related Archival Materials note

Related materials of Joseph S. Dixon's correspondence while on the staff of the University of California at Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology may be found in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology historical correspondence 1908-1930 collection (MVZA.MSS.0117).

Biographical/Historical Note

Joseph S. Dixon was born in Galena, Kansas on March 5, 1884. Very early in his life his family moved to San Diego, California where they owned a citrus farm. Joseph attended public schools in the Escondido area, and later attended Polytechnic Institute where he studied biology under Joseph Grinnell. He joined the Harvard Siberian Alaska Expedition sponsored by Annie M. Alexander in 1907. Due to unexpectedly severe weather the planned six-month trip stranded the group for nineteen months.

In 1908, Grinnell was appointed as founding Director over the new Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California at Berkeley. Dixon followed Grinnell to U.C. Berkeley and, after completing his graduate studies under Grinnell in 1915, Dixon joined the faculty at the museum, first as Assistant Curator of Mammals and later as the museum’s Economic Mammalogist. Dixon participated in Grinnell's scientifically important biological transect of the Yosemite region. By this time Dixon was known as a highly experienced field researcher and was assigned to lead a second important survey of the Kings River Canyon region, later known as the Sequoia Survey.

In 1932 Dixon left the MVZ to join the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he was assigned to prepare a book to be called "The Birds and Mammals of Sequoia National Park." Ultimately, due to lack of wartime funds, the project was not completed. The book was later completed by Lowell Sumner, and was published in 1953. Dixon died shortly before the book was published, but it has been considered a primary resource for studies of the biology of Southern Sierra. Dixon is considered a pioneer of wildlife research and a forerunner of the field of conservation biology.

Scope and Contents note

The Joseph S. Dixon Papers collection consists of 11 bound volumes spanning the years 1908-1929. Originally maintained by the author in three-ring field note binders, the notes were later separated and bound chronologically. The notes include journals, catalogues, and species accounts from localities within the western United States, primarily California. Some of the field notes contain hand drawings of specimens, map sketches, and photographs.

Arrangement note

The collection is arranged in three primary series: I. Field notes taken in 3 ring notebooks and rebound in MVZ standard bound field books, II. field notes in (other) formats which have not been rebound in MVZ standard binding, and III. a photographic series comprised of small series of glass plate negatives, personal photos of Dixon's colleagues, and a collections of deer photos.

The sections are bound in the order presented in this guide.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Alaska--Expedition--1907

Biological specimens--Collection and preservation.

Biology Fieldwork

Birds--California--Identification

Mammalogy--Fieldwork.

Scientific expeditions--California

University of California (1868-1952). Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

MVZ standard field notes

Volume 1

Volume 1 v583 1908-1909

Volume 1, Section 1

Prince William Sound, Alaska v583_s1 1908

Related Materials Note

The specimens collected in this section can be found in Arctos , the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology's specimen database.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

North America, United States, Alaska, Montague Island

North America, United States, Alaska, Green Island

North America, United States, Alaska, Hawkins Island

North America, United States, Alaska, Hinchinbrook Island

North America, United States, Alaska, Hoodoo Island

North America, United States, Alaska, Knight Island

North America, United States, Alaska, La Touche Island

View digitized field notes.