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Finding aid to the Donald R. Dickey papers
MVZA.MSS.0294
MVZA.MSS.0294
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Table of contents
Title: Donald R. Dickey papers
Identifier/Call Number: MVZA.MSS.0294
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.3 Linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1925-1992
Abstract: The Donald R. Dickey papers consist of field catalogues and correspondence. The two field catalogues cover the years 1925-1927.
The two folders of correspondence span the years 1931-1992.
Creator:
Dickey, Donald R. (Donald Ryder), 1887-1932
The collection is open for research, except for the Correspondence regarding Donald R. Dickey specimen collection folder;
consult Museum Archivist for details.
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.
[Identification of item], Donald R. Dickey papers, MVZA.MSS.0294, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Donald R. Dickey (1887-1932) was known for amassing a significant bird and mammal specimen collection, photographing and filming
wildlife, and discussing his field work as a lecturer. While health issues, primarily heart problems, frequently slowed his
work, his collection included almost 30,000 specimens by 1926. Receiving a B.A. from Yale in 1910, Dickey made his way to
California in that same year, having been a UC Berkeley student previously. He received a Masters degree from Occidental College
in 1925. Eventually becoming focused on establishing a research center for vertebrate zoology in southern California, Dickey
was appointed as a Research Associate by the California Institute of Technology in 1926. At the Institute, Dickey was given
space to keep his collection of specimens, photographs and film, and books. In 1940, eight years after his death, his widow
Florence Van Vechten Dickey donated his collection of over 50,000 skins and skeletons of birds and mammals to the University
of California, Los Angeles. The collection is now known as the UCLA Donald R. Dickey Bird and Mammal Collection.
Sources Consulted:
Correspondence 1931-1962 folder, Donald R. Dickey papers, MVZA.MSS.0294, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives, University
of California, Berkeley.
"Dickey, Donald Ryder. OAC."
SNAC: The Social Networks and Archival Context Project. Accessed May 21, 2014.
http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=dickey-donald-ryder-cr.xml
Harris, Harry. "An Appreciation of Donald Ryder Dickey."
The Condor, 36, 2 (1934): 59-66. Accessed May 21, 2014.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1363619
"The UCLA Donald R. Dickey Bird and Mammal Collection."
UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 2009. Accessed May 21, 2014.
https://www.eeb.ucla.edu/dickey/
The Donald R. Dickey papers consist of two non-standard bound field catalogues containing information from the years 1925-1927.
The catalogues include data relating to specimens collected, such as collector number, date collected, sex, and related information.
All of the specimens are mammals and were collected in El Salvador. The correspondence includes spans the years 1931-1992.
One folder contains correspondence addressed to both Dickey and his wife, Florence V.V. Dickey. The other correspondence folder
contains communications relating to the Donald R. Dickey specimen collection.
Materials relating to this collection within the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives include: the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology historical correspondence 1908-1930 collection (MVZA.MSS.0117) and the Ruben A. Stirton field notes (MVZA.MSS.0243).
The collection has been arranged in the following series: El Salvador mammals field catalogues and Correspondence. There are
no subseries.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Biological specimens--Collection and preservation.
Biological specimens--Identification
Cataloging--Specimens.
Catalogs
Correspondence
Mammalogy--Fieldwork.
Scientific expeditions--El Salvador
University of California (1868-1952). Museum of Vertebrate Zoology