Finding aid for Chaiclin family collection of negatives, circa 1905-1958 MVC088

Finding aid prepared/updated by Krystell Jimenez, 2023.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura County Community Foundation.
Museum of Ventura County
September 2023
100 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
Business Number: (805) 653-0323 (Extension: 320)
library@venturamuseum.org


Contributing Institution: Museum of Ventura County
Title: Chaiclin family collection of negatives
Creator: Chaiclin family
Identifier/Call Number: MVC088
Physical Description: 2.57 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1905 - 1958
Abstract: Joseph "Dick" Chaiclin was born in Connecticut in 1934, but moved to Ventura in the 1960s. He worked for the county until retiring in 2000. His father Abraham Chaiclin was an electrical and telephone engineer for Western Electric and Bell Laboratories. Dick passed away in 2009 in Oxnard at the age of 75. This collection consists largely of negatives and photographs of the Chaiclin family, and Dick's childhood and youth.
Physical Location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Stored off-site and advance notice is required for timely retrieval. Please request materials 2-3 days in advance. Researchers MUST make a research appointment on the Research Library website . Please make a note of the box numbers or container you are requesting."
Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. Advance requests can be made to Research Library staff via email.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Chaiclin family collection of negatives, (Collection MVC088), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Audrey Chaiclin; gift; 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2023.
Our collections are processed using MPLP methods so that we can prioritize access for users and identify potential priorities for more detailed processing. If while using our collections you think there is something that should be added or amended in the finding aid, we welcome your input. You can notify staff in the reading room or send us an email at library@venturamuseum.org. Be sure to include the collection number and name and the box number you were working with in your email.

Biographical / Historical

Joseph "Dick" Chaiclin was born in Stamford, Connecticut on May 10, 1934. He spent his childhood in Flushing, New York with his parents and two older sisters, Judy and Sue. His parents were Esther and Abraham Chaiclin. Abraham served in the Navy Reserve during World War I and worked as an electrical and telephone engineer for Western Electric and Bell Laboratories. Abraham was also involved in the installation and testing of Bell Telephone's trans-Atlantic transmissions in 1927, which predated the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable. Prior to the inauguration of the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable in 1956, calls between North America and Europe were radio based.
Both Dick and his sisters attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied geology. After college, he joined the United States Air Force. In 1968, Dick married Audrey. The couple moved to Ventura, where he worked for the county until retiring in 2000. The couple had a son and a daughter. He passed away on September 6, 2009, in his home in Oxnard, California, at the age of 75.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists largely of glass slide negatives, photographs, and negatives taken by the Chaiclin family. Additional materials include photo albums, a daybook, correspondence, and ephemera. The images are largely of family gatherings and trips, portraits, the Chaiclin children, camping trips, and Abraham Chaiclin's military service during World War I and his career as an engineer for Western Electric.

Organization and Arrangement

This collection has no series and original order has been maintained. Negatives and photographs that were enveloped together have been kept together and the original labels rewritten. Sets of negatives have been assigned alpha-numerical IDs to make identification easier. However, these were created by the archivist and are not original. Some glass negatives have had to be filed separately for preservation, but this has been noted and they have the same IDs as the negatives they were originally boxed with.

Other Finding Aids

A more detailed description and inventory for the negatives is available in this Chaiclin Negatives Inventory  document.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Family records
Photography of children
Photography of families
Family recreation
Chaiclin family

Box 1

Negatives and photographs circa 1910 - 1950

Scope and Contents

This box includes glass slides and photographs taken by the Chaiclin family. The images include locations in Washington, D.C., France, Italy, New York state, soldiers training during World War I, graduations, family gatherings, household and farming scenes, baby photos, family travel and outings, winter scenes, nature scenes and camping, pets including dogs and cats, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, individual and family portraits, parades, children playing games, painting, and swimming, Freemason events, fishing trips, telephone and transmission equipment, carnivals and fairs, and summer camp. For more detailed description see Other Finding Aids.
Box 2

Negatives, photographs, and albums circa 1905 - 1958

Scope and Contents

This box contains photographs, negatives, glass slide negatives, photo albums, and ephemera. The images include statues, memorials, parades, military parades and demonstrations, pets and children, camping and nature scenes, family outings to the beach, individual and family portraits, baby photos, trips to Washington, D.C., outings to a lake, fishing trips, fairs and carnivals, home interiors.
Other materials include clippings, cards, ticket stubs, correspondence, military registration cards, work passes and IDs, souvenirs, and a daybook. For a more detailed description see Other Finding Aids.