Ralph Works Chaney papers , 1917-1966

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Chaney, Ralph W. (Ralph Works), 1890-1971
Title
Ralph Works Chaney papers
Dates
1917-1966 (inclusive)
Quantity
32 linear feet, (44 containers)
Collection Number
Ax 482
Summary
Ralph W. Chaney was an paleobotanist, an author, and a long-time member of the U.S. Park Service Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments, and of the Save the Redwoods League. The collection contains professional correspondence, paleobotany research, mounted botany specimens, manuscripts and published material, Carnegie Institution research work material, Berkeley faculty material including lectures, correspondence, and committee work, Save the Redwoods League files, manuscripts of books and articles, and photographs.
Repository
University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time. Glass plate negatives and lantern slides are restricted due to the fragility of the format. All decisions regarding use will be at the discretion of the curator for visual materials.

Additional Reference Guides

See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Ralph W. Chaney was born in Chicago, Illinois and educated at the University of Chicago. From 1922 he was a research associate at the Carnegie Institution and from 1931 a professor of paleobotany at the University of California, Berkeley. He was known for his ecological approach to paleobotany. From 1943 he was a member of the U.S. National Park Service Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments, and from 1928 a member and officer of the Save the Redwoods League.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains professional correspondence, paleobotany research, mounted botany specimens, manuscripts and published material, Carnegie Institution research work material, Berkeley faculty material including lectures, correspondence, and committee work, Save the Redwoods League files, manuscripts of books and articles, and photographs.

The professional correspondence is alphabetically arranged and is substantial, with over 12,000 letters filling four boxes. Please see below for a listing of major correspondents.

The Berkeley series (1921-1962) covers the time Chaney was working at UC Berkeley both as a professor and prior to that, as a research associate of the Carnegie Institute. Material is organized alphabetically by subject/project title and includes correspondence, committee work, research grant material, student activities and recommendations, reports and official documents.

The Carnegie series (1918-1960) is alphabetically arranged by subject title and contains expedition work materials, correspondence, reports, expense accounts, and lecture material.

Save the Redwoods League (1926-1966) materials include correspondence, research material, drafts, and published copies of reports, press releases, and other publications.

The manuscripts series contains paleobotany research, notes, drafts, and some publication copies of works by Chaney, as well as presentation and speech manuscripts, 1910-1967.

A small box houses mounted botany specimens with title, location found and date information.

The photograph series contains over a thousand images and negatives of botany and fossil specimens from the 1920s-1950s.

Major correspondents in the collection are: Annie M. Alexander, American Philosophical Society, Roy Chapman Andrews, Chester A. Arnold, Daniel I. Axelrod, Irving W. Bailey, , George B. Barbour, Edson S. Bastin, Charles P. Berkey, Eliot Blackwelder, Roland W. Brown, John P. Buwalda, Wendell H. Camp, Frederic E. Clements, Carlton Condit, Harold J. Cook, Luther S. Cressman, Helmut DeTerra, Erling Dorf, A. E. Douglass, Newton B. Drury, Roy B. Earling, Max K. Elias, Saido Endo, Louise Fillman, Rudolf Florin, Childs Frick, Eustace L. Furlong, Walter M. Gilbert, Waldo S. Glock, Winifred Goldring, T. Harper Goodspeed, Walter Granger, Joseph T. Gregory, Irving M. Grey, Joseph Grinnel, Edwin T. Hodge, Hsen-Hsu Hu, Olaf P. Jenkins, Willis L. Jepson, George F. Kay, Franz Kirchheimer, Frank H. Knowlton, African N. Kryshtofovich, Rajendra N. Lakhanpal, George D. Louderback, , Harry D. McGinitie, Arnold C. Mason, F. E. Matthes, Charles W. Merriam, John C. Merriam, Elmer D. Merrill, Shigeru Miki, Harold N. Moldenke, Chester W. Nimitz, Adolf C. Noe, Asbjorn P. Ousdal, Adolph Pabst, Earl L. Packard, Leroy T. Patton, Wendell G. Phillips, Charles B. Read, Alfred Rehder, George B. Rigg, Carl P. Russell, Birbal Sahni, Ethel Sanborn, Yasuo Sasa, Hubert G. Schenk, Robert H. Seashore, William A. Setchell, Albert C. Seward, J. Arnold Shotwell, George G. Simpson, Warren D. Smith, Herman A. Spoehr, Chester Stock, J. Leighton Stuart, R. D. Swales, V. O. Tansey, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Arthur C. Trowbridge, T. Wayland Vaughan, Stephen S. Vischer, Charles E. Weaver, Chester K. Wentworth, Alexander Wetmore, David White, George R. Wieland, Jack A. Wolfe.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Conservationists--United States
  • Paleobotanists--United States
  • Paleobotany--Research
  • Paleobotany--Study and teaching (Higher)--California--Berkeley

Personal Names

  • Chaney, Ralph W. (Ralph Works), 1890-1971
  • Chaney, Ralph W. (Ralph Works), 1890-1971

Corporate Names

  • Carnegie Institution of Washington
  • Save the Redwoods League
  • University of California, Berkeley. Department of Paleontology

Form or Genre Terms

  • Correspondence
  • Gelatin silver prints
  • Manuscripts for publication
  • Nitrate negatives
  • Photographic prints
  • Research notes