Inventory to the papers of Rollo Howard and Ida Menzies Beck at the California Academy of Sciences Library MSS.036

Finding aid prepared by Barbara West, Research Associate

California Academy of Sciences Archives

55 Music Concourse Drive

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco, CA, 94118

415-379-5484

library@calacademy.org

May, 2008

Descriptive Summary

Title: Beck (Rollo Howard and Ida Menzies) collection

Collection number: MSS.036

Repository: California Academy of Sciences, Special Collections

55 Music Concourse Drive

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco, CA 94118

Languages: Materials are in English.

Physical Description: 17.88 Cubic feet 1 records center carton, 52 archives boxes (some oversize, some glass negative boxes), 1 rolled item

Date (inclusive): 1885-1985

Abstract: Consists of papers relating to Rollo Beck's life, primarily but not exclusively his life as a collector. Included are papers relating to expeditions to the Galápagos (5 starts, 4 completed trips), South America and parts of the Caribbean, the South Seas, and Alaska (two trips). The collection includes negatives, prints and lantern slides of his travels, as well some of his life as a farmer.

Creator: Beck, Ida Menzies, 1883-1970

Creator: Beck, Rollo Howard, 1870-1950

Biographical note

Rollo Howard Beck was born August 26, 1870, in Los Gatos, California. When he was six, his family moved a few miles to Berryessa, now a district of San Jose, California. Over an active career that lasted nearly 60 years, Beck became the best known bird and reptile collector of the time, despite having only completed school through part of eighth grade.

After leaving school Beck went to work for several local farmers, one of whom was also an amateur ornithologist. From him Beck learned to prepare skins and to identify birds using Elliott Coues' Key to North American Birds. He joined both the American Ornithologists' Union and Cooper Ornithological Club (now Society) in 1894, establishing lifelong contact with other ornithologists both locally and nationally.

In 1897 Beck joined the Webster-Harris Expedition, financed by the Hon. Walter Rothschild. This trip went to the Galápagos where Beck learned a great deal about finding and collecting tortoises and birds, Rothschild's twin passions. In 1901 and 1902 Beck financed two more collecting trips to the Galápagos Islands, searching for specimens to sell to Rothschild and to others.

The first expedition Beck led for the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) was a three and a half month collecting expedition to the Revillagigedos Islands, off the coast of Baja California, in 1903.

In 1905, CAS asked him to lead an expedition to the Galápagos. A ship, three fulltime crew and 7 other collectors who also served as sailor-scientists were assembled by the Academy. The expedition was gone for 17 months and was in the islands for a year and a day - the longest Galápagos collecting expedition. They returned with 76,000 items – birds, tortoises, insects, reptiles, snails, marine mammals, plants and rocks. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, which destroyed almost everything held by the Museum, occurred while they were gone, so their collections formed the basis of the new California Academy of Sciences.

Beck married Ida May Menzies in August 1909. They lived in Berryessa and Pacific Grove, California for the next few years.

From 1907-1912 Beck collected water-birds inland and sea birds along the California coast and out to sea for CAS and also for the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California, Berkeley. He invented "chumming" for sea birds. Taking some meat scraps with him in a small boat he would row due west for a few miles, tossing out scraps every so often. He would then reverse course, collecting the sea birds that appeared along this food-rich track. He established records for many sea birds which hadn't been previously recorded in northern California.

In 1911 he was employed to go to Alaska for a five and a half month trip with A.C. Bent and Alexander Wetmore, both notable ornithologists. There they collected around islands and around Nome. Again in 1919 he was asked by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to collect in Alaska.

Beck worked for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) from 1912-1917, collecting all around the coast of South America and offshore islands, and through the Caribbean. Mrs. Beck accompanied him for much of the time in spite of her chronic seasickness. In 1920 the AMNH asked him to lead the Whitney Expedition to the South Seas. Again Mrs. Beck accompanied him and he led this expedition until 1928. Immediately after leaving this expedition Mr. Whitney asked him to continue to collect New Guinea, alone. The Becks spent another 9 months doing this, and then returned to California in 1930.

In 1924 he had purchased a fruit farm in Planada CA, near Merced. After returning from the Whitney Expedition he spent the rest of his life farming and observing and collecting birds in central California. He died November 22, 1950, at age 80. Ida Beck stayed on the farm for several years, then moved to San Jose CA to live with relatives. She died in 1970, age 87.

Chronology

Chronology of the life of Rollo Howard Beck

1870	Rollo Howard Beck born
1894	Joined American Ornithologists' Union and Cooper Ornithological Club
1897	Hired by the California Academy of Sciences to collect birds in the Channel Islands, CA
1897	Hired as member of Rothschild Expedition to the Galapagos Islands
1897-1910	Intermittently affiliated with the California Academy of Sciences as a field collector
1903	Revillagigedos Islands Expedition for the California Academy of Sciences
1905-1906	Galapagos Expedition for California Academy of Sciences
1909	Marriage to Ida Menzies
1910-1912	Affiliation with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
1911	Interrupting his affiliation with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, he made a collecting trip to Alaska with A.C. Bent and Alexander Wetmore
1912-1917	Brewster-Sanford Expedition, South America and the Caribbean, for the American Museum of Natural History
1912-1929	Affiliation with the American Museum of Natural History
1919	Collected in Alaska for the American Museum of Natural History
1920-1929	Leader of Whitney South Seas Expedition for the American Museum of Natural History
1930-1950	Farmed in central California. Observed and collected birds for the California Department of Fish & Wildlife
1950	Died

Organizational note

Organized into the following series: Series 1: Biographical Materials; Series 2: Corresponence; Series 3: Field Journals and Notes; Series 4: Legal, Financial, and Related Papers; Series 5: Other Papers; Series 6: Photo Lists and Photographic Materials.

Conditions governing access

Access is unrestricted.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Most of the papers and many of the photographs were donated to the California Academy of Sciences by Beck family members in 1969, 1985 and 1986.

Arrangement note

Arrangement varies by series.

Preferred citation

Rollo Howard and Ida Menzies Beck papers, California Academy of Sciences Library, San Francisco, CA

Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Scope and Content

Consists of papers relating to Rollo Beck's life, primarily but not exclusively his life as a collector. Included are papers relating to expeditions to the Galápagos (5 starts, 4 completed trips), South America and parts of the Caribbean, the South Seas, and Alaska (two trips). The collection includes negatives, prints and lantern slides of his travels, as well some of his life as a farmer.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

American Museum of Natural History.

Cooper Ornithological Club of the Pacific Coast.

Beck, Rollo Howard, 1870-1950

California Academy of Sciences.

Scientific expeditions--South America.

Scientific expeditions--New Guinea, Dutch.

New Guinea.

Alaska.

South America.

Scientific expeditions--Oceania.

Galapagos Islands.

Scientific expeditions--Alaska.

Oceania.

Scientific expeditions--Galapagos Islands.

Series 1: Biographical Materials undated

Box 1, Folder 1

Autobiographies and obituaries 1918, 1936, 1950

Box 1, Folder 2

Materials about Beck's life, mostly created after his death

Series 2: Correspondence 1886-1895

Box 1, Folder 3

Undated undated

Box 1, Folder 4

Correspondence 1886

Box 1, Folder 5

Correspondence 1890-1893

Box 1, Folder 6

Correspondence 1894 January-June

Box 1, Folder 7

Correspondence 1894 July-September

Box 1, Folder 8

Correspondence 1894 October-December

Box 1, Folder 9

Correspondence 1895 January-June

Box 1, Folder 10

Correspondence 1895 July-December

Box 2, Folder 1

Correspondence 1896 January-June

Box 2, Folder 2

Correspondence 1896 July-December

Box 2, Folder 3

Correspondence 1897

Box 2, Folder 4

Correspondence 1898 January-March

Box 2, Folder 5

Correspondence 1898 April-June

Box 3, Folder 1

Correspondence 1898 July-September

Box 3, Folder 3

Correspondence 1899 January-March

Box 3, Folder 4

Correspondence 1899 April-June

Box 3, Folder 5

Correspondence 1899 July-December

Box 4, Folder 1

Correspondence 1900

Box 4, Folder 2

Correspondence 1901

Box 4, Folder 3

Correspondence 1902

Box 4, Folder 4

Correspondence 1903

Box 4, Folder 5

Correspondence 1904

Box 4, Folder 6

Correspondence 1905

Box 4, Folder 7

Correspondence 1906

Box 4, Folder 8

Correspondence 1907

Box 4, Folder 9

Correspondence 1908

Box 4, Folder 10

Correspondence 1909

Box 5, Folder 1

Correspondence 1910

Box 5, Folder 2

Correspondence 1911

Box 5, Folder 3

Correspondence 1912

Box 5, Folder 4

Correspondence 1913

Box 5, Folder 5

Correspondence 1914

Box 5, Folder 6

Correspondence 1915

Box 5, Folder 7

Correspondence 1916

Box 5, Folder 8

Correspondence 1917-1918

Box 5, Folder 9

Correspondence 1919

Box 5, Folder 10

Correspondence 1920

Box 5, Folder 11

Correspondence 1921

Box 5, Folder 12

Correspondence 1922

Box 5, Folder 13

Correspondence 1923

Box 6, Folder 1

Correspondence 1924 January-March

Box 6, Folder 2

Correspondence 1924 April-June

Box 6, Folder 3

Correspondence 1924 July-December

Box 6, Folder 4

Correspondence 1925

Box 6, Folder 5

Correspondence 1926

Box 6, Folder 6

Correspondence 1927

Box 6, Folder 7

Correspondence 1929

Box 6, Folder 8

Correspondence 1929

Box 6, Folder 9

Correspondence 1930-1934

Box 6, Folder 10

Correspondence 1935-1936, 1939

Box 3, Folder 2

Correspondence 1898 October-December

Box 7, Folder 1

Correspondence 1940-1950

Box 7, Folder 2

Correspondence 1951-1985

Box 9, Folder 1

Correspondence to and from others not recorded

Box 9, Folder 2

Correspondence, Ida M. Beck not recorded

Oversize correspondence 1894-1927

Box 8, Folder 1

Correspondence 1894 November 20

Box 8, Folder 2

Correspondence 1894 November 30

Box 8, Folder 3

Correspondence 1894 December 3

Box 8, Folder 4

Correspondence 1894 December 8

Box 8, Folder 5

Correspondence 1894 December 19

Box 8, Folder 6

Correspondence 1894 December 28

Box 8, Folder 7

Correspondence with Skinner 1895 February 27

Box 8, Folder 8

Correspondence 1895 October 2

Box 8, Folder 9

Correspondence 1897 March 24

Box 8, Folder 10

Correspondence 1898 March 18

Box 8, Folder 11

Correspondence 1898 October 9

Box 8, Folder 12

Correspondence 1898 October 14

Box 8, Folder 13

Correspondence 1898 October 27

Box 8, Folder 14

Correspondence 1900 July 11

Box 8, Folder 17

Correspondence 1906 December?

Box 8, Folder 18

Correspondence 1910? December 29

Box 8, Folder 19

Correspondence 1921 June 7 and August 8 1921 June 7 and August 8

Box 8, Folder 20

Correspondence 1921 December 7

Box 8, Folder 21

Correspondence 1922 October 6

Box 8, Folder 22

Correspondence 1923 July 17

Box 8, Folder 24, Box 8, Folder 23

Correspondence 1924 April 2

Box 8, Folder 25

Correspondence 1924 June 20

Box 8, Folder 26

Correspondence 1924 July 18

Box 8, Folder 27

Correspondence 1925 September 16

Box 8, Folder 28

Correspondence 1925 September 28

Box 8, Folder 29

Correspondence 1925 December 18

Box 8, Folder 31

Correspondence 1926 February 4

Box 8, Folder 30

Correspondence 1926 January 11

Box 8, Folder 33

Correspondence 1926 December 16

Box 8, Folder 35

Correspondence 1927 January 12

Box 8, Folder 36

Correspondence 1927 March 27

Box 8, Folder 37

Correspondence 1927 March 20

Box 8, Folder 38

Correspondence 1927 May 9

Box 8, Folder 39

Correspondence 1927 June 15

Box 8, Folder 34

Correspondence 1927 January 10-12

Series 3: Field Journals and Notes

Box 10, Folder 1

Rollo Beck Galapagos expedition journal [original] 1905-1906

Box 10, Folder 2

Rollo Beck Galapagos expedition journal [acid-free copy] 1905-1906

Box 10, Folder 3

California Academy of Sciences Galapagos Expedition, Beck's Schooner Academy Log Book, Personnel Evaluations, and J. J. Parker Matter Letters 1906

Box 10, Folder 4

Waterbird Notes, Los Banos, California 1908-1909

Box 10, Folder 5

Alaska 1911

Box 10, Folder 6

Peru [sic] 1912

Box 10, Folder 7

South American Expeditions for American Museum of Natural History 1912-1917

Box 11, Folder 1

South America, original field notes, American Museum of Natural History 1912-1917

Box 11, Folder 2

South America, edited by Murphy and typed, American Museum of Natural History 1912-1917

Box 11, Folder 3

Alaska, collecting list and journal, notes on desiderata, localities. 1919

Box 11, Folder 4

South Seas, Materials prepared for Beck on flora, fauna, geography, people, and languages, Whitney expedition undated

Box 11, Folder 5

South Seas, Parts of handwritten journal and edited/typed version 1920-1923

Box 12, Folder 1

South Seas, Field notes typed by Rollo and/or Ida Beck 1922-1928

Box 12, Folder 2

New Guinea expedition, typed by Beck 1928-1929

Box 12, Folder 3

Field Notes, typed by Beck [duplicates of pages in Box 11, folder 3] 1919

Box 12, Folder 4

Field notes, edited by Murphy and typed at American Museum of Natural History 1920-1923

Box 12, Folder 5

Field notes, edited by Murphy and typed at American Museum of Natural History 1923-1925

Box 12, Folder 6

Field notes [duplicate of material in Box 12, Folder 5] 1924

Box 12, Folder 7

Discursive summaries of South Seas field notes by locale or bird undated

Box 13, Folder 1

Bird lists from South Seas 1920-1929

Box 8, Folder 32

List of New Hebrides Island birds taken by Whitney Expedition, J. G. Correia 1926 October 29

Box 13, Folder 2

Lists of birds collected for USFWS, USDA, Ca. 1895-1896, 1931-1939

Box 13, Folder 3

Lists of Beck's personal collections 1931-1938

Box 13, Folder 4

Redwing blackbird control notes, Merced County, California 1943-1950

Series 4: Legal, Financial, and Related Papers

Box 14, Folder 1, Box 14, Folder 2

Legal papers, stock certificates, and financial records not recorded

Box 14, Folder 3

Papers related to La Prosperidad Colony not recorded

Box 14, Folder 4

Passports, collecting permits, and letters of introduction not recorded

Box 14, Folder 5

Acknowledgments of donations, appointments of honor not recorded

Box 15, Folder 1

Correspondence re: bookkeeping not recorded

Box 15, Folder 2

Account book 1888-1898

Box 15, Folder 3

Account book 1899-1907

Box 15, Folder 4

Account book early 1900s

Box 15, Folder 5

Account book [includes some diary-like entries] 1940-1950

Box 8, Folder 15

Stores list for 1901 expedition 1901

Box 8, Folder 16

Contracts and other legal documents 1903 April 20

Series 5: Other Papers

Maps 1902, 1907, undated

Maps, Pilot Charts not recorded

U.S. Chart #1798 of the Galapagos 1907

Map of Santo Domingo Island not recorded

Object 1

U.S. Chart #1798 of the Galapagos, used on expedition 1902 December 11

Box 17, Folder 1

Maps, Tahiti, various not recorded

Box 17, Folder 2

Drafts and travel notes 1895-1942

Box 17, Folder 3

Bird eggs and skins for sale; Bird books for sale not recorded

Box 17, Folder 4

Ticket stubs and business/calling cards 1895-1942

Box 17, Folder 5

Printed and duplicated materials kept by Beck not recorded

Box 17, Folder 6

Blank stationary and forms undated

Box 17, Folder 7

Printed materials not recorded

Box 17, Folder 8

Book, Gems of Scottish Songs 1894

Box 17, Folder 9

Christmas Carols, Pamphlet with Lyrics undated

News clippings undated

Box 18, Folder 1

News Clippings about Beck, Childhood not recorded

Box 18, Folder 2

News Clippings about Beck, Galapagos 1894

Box 18, Folder 3

News Clippings about Beck, Alaska 1911

Box 18, Folder 4

News Clippings about Beck, South America 1912-1917

Box 18, Folder 5

News Clippings about Beck, South Seas 1920-1930

Box 18, Folder 6

News Clippings about Beck 1930-1985

Box 18, Folder 7

News Clippings, Articles about Ida M. Beck not recorded

Box 18, Folder 8

Duplicates, not deacidified not recorded

Box 18, Folder 9

Printed mementos of Beck's travels

Box 19, Folder 1

Scrapbook of Beck's travels not recorded

Box 19, Folder 2

Clippings and articles related to Beck's life, but not by or about him not recorded

Box 19, Folder 3

Murphy, R. C., "Observations on Birds of the South Pacific," typed partial manuscript not recorded

Box 19, Folder 4

Beck's handwritten list of articles or references to himself not recorded

Box 19, Folder 5

Articles by or about Beck, including Slevin's 1917 log 1917, undated

Box 20, Box 22, Box 21

Reprints and offprints of journal articles by or about Beck not recorded

Ephemera undated

Box 19, Object 1, Box 19, Object 2

Pith helmets undated

Box 23, Object 3

Bulb for lantern slide projector undated

Box 23, Object 4

Green eyeshade undated

Box 23, Object 5

Small knife case undated

Box 23, Object 6

Eastman Kodak Bulls-Eye #2 camera undated

Series 6: Photo Lists and Photographic Materials

Photo lists undated

Box 26, Folder 1

Galapagos undated

Box 26, Folder 2

South America and the Caribbean undated

Box 26, Folder 3

South Seas undated

Box 26, Folder 4

Photo captions, South Seas undated

Box 26, Folder 4

Three small notepads with South Seas photo lists plus other notes; paper used to hold prints for publication (Gifford, "Proceedings") undated

Galapagos photographic prints in notebooks 1905-1906

Existence and Location of Copies note

Most prints and negatives from these notebooks have been scanned and are available for viewing via the library's Cumulus database.

Box 39

Volume 1: Tortoises; Tortoises and People undated

Box 40

Volume 2: People, not Tortoises undated

Box 41

Volume 3: Fauna and Flora

Box 42

Volume 4: Ship and Crew, Mexico undated

Photographic negatives undated

Box 27

Galapagos, nitrate negatives [in freezer] undated

Box 28

Galapagos, glass plate negatives undated

Box 29

South Seas, 5" by 7" glass plate negatives undated

Box 30

South Seas, 2 1/2" by 3" glass plate negatives

Box 31

South America, glass negatives undated

Box 32

Beck's farm, glass negatives

Box 33

Galapagos, safety film negatives, plus ten 5" by 7" nitrate negatives and five 3" by 4" negatives to be tested

Box 34

South Seas, safety film negatives [sNegatives] undated

Box 35

Not South Seas, safety film negatives [sNegatives] undated

Lantern slides undated

Box 36

Lantern slides undated

Box 37

Lantern slides undated

Box 38

Lantern slides undated

Box 38.1

Lantern slides in old slide carrier box undated

Box 43, Folder 1

Alaska, photographic prints 1911, 1919

Box 43, Folder 2

South America and Caribbean (Brewster-Sanford Expedition) prints 1912-1917

South Seas (Whitney Expedition) photographic prints 1920-1929

Scope and Contents note

All images are 5" by 7" and most have American Museum of Natural History numbers.

Box 44, Folder 2, Box 44, Folder 1

Fiji, no captions

Box 44, Folder 3

Fiji; captions undated

Box 44, Folder 4

Tuamotus, with captions 1922

Box 44, Folder 5

Marquesas, with captions 1923

Box 44, Folder 6

Tubuai and Austral, with captions 1921

Box 44, Folder 7

Unknown, a few with captions undated

Box 44, Folder 8

Samoa, a few with captions 1924

Box 44, Folder 9

Tonga, a few with captions 1925

Box 44, Folder 10

Societies/Tahiti, with captions 1923

Box 44, Folder 11

S.V. France, some with captions undated

Box 45, Folder 1

New Zealand, some with captions 1925-1926

Box 45, Folder 2

Papua New Guinea 1, with captions 1928-1929

Box 45, Folder 3

Papua New Guinea 2, with captions 1928-1929

Box 45, Folder 4

Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon; a few with captions 1927

Box 45, Folder 7

Solomons, a few with captions 1927

Box 45, Folder 5

Kiribati, a few with captions 1921 December

Box 45, Folder 6

Bismarck Archipelago, a few with captions 1928

South Seas (Whitney Expedition) prints arranged by topic. 1920-1929

Scope and Contents note

Prints of various sizes. These items do not have AMNH numbers.

Box 46, Folder 1

Ships, shipping, cargo

Box 46, Folder 2

Houses, people and houses 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 3

Fauna 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 4

Flora 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 5

Portraits with one or two people 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 6

Group shots 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 7

Laundry 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 8

Market and toting 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 9

People at work 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 10

Ceremonies 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 11

Archery and hunting 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 12

Steamers/ocean liners 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 13

Schooners: France, Moana, Pro Patria, Hinano? 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 14

Europeans 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 15

Natives, mostly Tuamotus 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 16

Australia 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 17

Jose and Virginia Correia 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 18

Gardening 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 19

Fishing, collecting eggs 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 20

Village 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 21

Native and Western boats 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 22

Geography and scenery 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 23

Solomons 1929

Box 46, Folder 24

Kiritimati, Vanuatu, Tonga 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 25

Samoa 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 26

Marquesas 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 27

Societies 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 28

Fiji 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 29

Papua New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 30

New Zealand 1920-1929

Box 46, Folder 31

Norfolk I. and Lord Howe I., Australia late May 1926

Box 47, Folder 1

South Seas prints corresponding to negatives in box 34.

Scope and Contents note

Old prints as well as new ones of previously unprinted negatives. Many duplicates.

Family and non-expedition photographic prints

Box 47, Folder 2

Family photos, corresponding to negatives in Box 35 undated

Box 47, Folder 3

Photos taken in England, corresponding to negatives in Box 35 1929

Box 48, Folder 1

Family and friends, greater Bay Area undated

Box 48, Folder 2

Fruit farming undated

Box 48, Folder 3

Live birds, probably Planada, CA undated`

Box 48, Folder 4

California, not Bay Area undated

Box 48, Folder 5

Massachusetts and Rhode Island 1898-1899

Box 48, Folder 6

Not United States undated

Box 48, Folder 7

Taxidermy, activity and products undated

Oversize prints undated

Box 49, Folder 1

Galapagos, most mounted on hardboard and identified by G number undated

Box 49, Folder 2

Farm pictures undated

Box 49, Folder 3

Miscellaneous and unknown undated

Box 49, Folder 4

Portraits of Rollo Beck undated

Photo albums undated

Scope and Contents note

What was Album 5 is now missing. It was a small photo album given to Rollo and Ida Beck by Ernest Quayle, Christmas 1920.

Box 50

Albums 1 and 2

Box 51

Albums 3 and 4

Box 52

Albums 6 and 7