Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biographical/historical note
Scope and contents note
Arrangement note
Related materials
Descriptive Summary
Title: Jean M. Linsdale papers
Identifier/Call Number: MVZA.MSS.0175
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.9 Linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1926-1964
Abstract: The Jean M. Linsdale papers consist of field notes and correspondence. The field notes span the years 1926-1937. The correspondence
dates from 1939-1964 and covers topics including the Hastings Reservation, general expenditures, professional societies, his
writings, and miscellaneous.
Creator:
Linsdale, Jean M. (Jean Myron), 1902-1969
Administrative Information
Conditions governing access
The collection is open for research.
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.
Preferred citation
[Identification of item], Jean M. Linsdale papers, MVZA.MSS.0175, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Biographical/historical note
Jean M. Linsdale (1902-1969) was born in Wellsville, Kansas. He majored in Zoology as an undergraduate at the University of
Kansas and received his MA from the school in 1925. He moved to California that same year and was a Teaching Fellow at UC
Berkeley from 1925-1927, completing his PhD in 1927. Altogether, he served as a Research Associate at the MVZ for 33 years.
The first ten years were with the Museum, and the final twenty-three (1938-1960) were as the first resident director of the
Hastings Natural History Reservation. His major publications focused on mammals, co-authoring the 1937 monograph Fur-Bearing
Mammals of California with Joseph Dixon and Joseph Grinnell. Other writings include The California Ground Squirrel (1946),
The Dusky-Footed Woodrat (with Lloyd Tevis, 1951); and a monograph on mule deer (with Quentin Tomich, 1953). He also did editorial
work for The Condor, Pacific Coast Avifauna, and American Midland Naturalist and reviewed books, mostly for American Midland
Naturalist. He was closely connected to the Cooper Ornithological Society, joining in 1926 and serving as the Northern Division’s
president for a term. Health issues led to an early retirement in 1960.
Sources Consulted:
Scope and contents note
The Jean M. Linsdale papers include fourteen standard-bound volumes of field notes. These span the years 1926-1937. In addition
to the field notes series, there are eight folders of correspondence covering the years 1939-1964. Included in the correspondence
are items about the Hastings Reservation, general expenditures, professional societies, his writings, and miscellaneous topics.
All materials, with the exception of correspondence dated 1961-1964, coincide with Linsdale’s time as a Teaching Fellow and
Research Associate with UC Berkeley.
Arrangement note
The collection has been arranged in the following series: Field Notes and Correspondence. There are no subseries.
Related materials
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Biological specimens--Collection and preservation.
Biological specimens--Identification
Biology Fieldwork
Cataloging--Specimens.
Correspondence
Field notes
Mammalogy--Fieldwork.
Scientific expeditions--California
Scientific expeditions--Nevada
University of California (1868-1952). Museum of Vertebrate Zoology