Description
Collection consists chiefly of personal letters to
Dickey, some newspaper clippings of persons and happenings of interest to him,
numerous wedding invitations, and a copy of his will, dated 1916.
Background
Donald Ryder Dickey (1887-1932) was an adventurous, pioneer wildlife
photographer as well as an ornithologist and mammalogist. He was well known in
his time for: his photographs (both still and moving) of birds and mammals; his
lectures on wildlife; and eventually, for his substantial specimen collection of
birds and mammals. Drawn to outdoor life in his childhood and youth, he
considered this nothing more than a hobby until he experienced a serious heart
attack in his senior year at Yale and was sentenced to immediate and complete
bedrest. Allowed to graduate with his class because of his high academic
standing, he returned after graduation to his parents' home in Pasadena for two
years of inactivity. He visited a friend's ranch in the Ojai Valley after about
a year, and there, from his steamer chair, he began to observe, and after a time
to photograph, local birds and their nests.
Extent
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
Restrictions
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Biomedical
Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and
their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission
to publish if the Biomedical Library does not hold the copyright.
Availability
Collection is open for research.