Enzo de Chetelat papers, circa late 18th century-1981, bulk 1920-1981

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Summary

Creators:
De Chetelat, Enzo
Abstract:
Artifacts, an autobiography, correspondence, documents, maps, several thousand photographs (prints, negatives, and slides), reports, travel files, and writings of Enzo de Chetelat, a mining engineer, who visited and worked in numerous countries, often French colonies at the time, from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Extent:
16 linear feet (10 document boxes, 12 cartons, and 3 oversize boxes)
Language:
Multiple languages and The collection is in French and English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Enzo de Chetelat papers, Bernath Mss 316. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

Autobiography, correspondence, documents, maps, reports, black/white photographs and photograph albums, several thousand color slides, and artifacts of a Swiss-born mining geologist who visited or worked in many countries from the 1920s to the 1970s, including Albania, Algeria, Bali, Belgian Congo, Brazil, British Honduras, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Ceylon, Czechoslovakia, Dahomey, France, French Guinea, French Guyana, French Polynesia, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Paracel Islands, Peru, Samoa, Senegal, Singapore, Somalia, Sumatra, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Upper Volta, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia.

Biographical / historical:

Enzo de Chetelat was born in Milan, Italy in 1901. He received his degree in geological engineering from the University of Nancy (France) in 1924, and his doctorate from the University of Paris. He continued to do research at Columbia and Harvard, and became a U.S. citizen in 1943. He began his career as a mining geologist in 1924 working in French occupied countries such as Morocco, French Guinea, and countries in Southeast Asia. From 1939-1942, he worked for Le Societé de Nickel in New Caledonia. He became employed with the U.S. Board of Economic Warfare, Foreign Economic Administration in 1942 and was in charge of lend-lease operations for the rehabilitation of mines in Northern Africa. In addition, he worked in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Korea, and Tunisia. He started doing consulting in 1961. He lived at Monsey, NY for a time. He married Eleanor Beer, who went to Vassar, and who accompanied him on some of his early assignments abroad. During the late 1970s, he maintained residences in Grand Junction, CO and France. He passed away in France, in 1983.

Acquisition information:
Transfer from the University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center (AHC), 2008.
Custodial history:

AHC obtained the collection from Adrienne de Chetelat Hanmer, Enzo and Eleanor de Chetelat's daughter.

Arrangement:

The collection contains the following series:

Bio-Personal.
  1. Autobiography. Box 1.
  2. Biographical Material. Includes autobiography materials, birth certificate, business cards, Chetelat family files, documents, education files, passports, and work related files. Box 2.
  3. Correspondence: Alphabetical – incl. to/from Enzo, Eleanor, and Adrienne. Box 3. Chronological, 1903-1981, n.d. Boxes 3-4.
  4. Diaries/Journals, incl. daybooks, 1940s-1970s. Box 5.
  5. Writings by Enzo – mainly on geological topics re Africa, ca. 1920s-1950s. Box 6.
Photographic Materials.
  1. Albums/Notebooks –1000+ b/w prints, incl. Dahomey, French Guinea, French Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), Sumatra, and Thailand, ca. 1925-1935. Boxes 7-9.
  2. Glass Negatives – incl. French Guinea, French Indochina, WWI (French infantry), ca. 1917-1930. Box 10.
  3. Prints and Negatives (loose). 2500+ images, most b/w prints and negatives, incl. many Chetelat family, Cambodia, Dahomey, French Guinea, Nepal, New Caledonia, Togo, Tunisia, ca. 1890s-1978. Box 11.
  4. Slides - about 5500 images from numerous countries, incl. many from Cambodia, Ceylon, Galapagos, India, Indonesia, Korea, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco, Nepal, New Caledonia, Togo, Turkey, and Vietnam, ca. 1938-1970s. Boxes 12-18.
Travel Materials
  1. Includes documents, maps, newspapers and clippings, postcards, receipts, reports, travel and military orders, and other material mainly relating to overseas assignments and trips; arranged by country/geographical area. Also includes geological articles and reports by de Chetelat. Boxes 19-22.
Artifacts.
  1. Includes metal anklets from West Africa (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo), Ceylon, and India, most from 1930s; pottery fragment from Cambodia [poss. 13c], and carved wood figures from West Africa (French Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria/Dahomey, Togo/Upper Volta), late 19c – mid 20c. Box 23-24.
Miscellany.
  1. Mainly stamps (numerous countries, most on envelopes, from friends/relatives) and labels (acquired on travels); also some 18-19c engravings. Box 25.
Physical location:
A portion of the collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. A portion of the collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Enzo de Chetelat papers, Bernath Mss 316. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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