Desk Diary, November 16, 1954-October 31, 1958

The records consist mostly of the journals Nichols kept during his life. The journals record wildlife observed on his travels overseas, but the bulk of the entries are devoted to Nichols’ observations in Central Park, on the Museum grounds, and in his home at Long Island. His desk diaries consist of notes on sources and information collected for Nichols’ books, mostly his book on fresh-water fish from China. Generally, these entries have a line or two devoted to the duties and office procedures of the curator as well. Boxes 7 and 19, termed “Bibliography,” lists all of Nichols’ articles throughout his life, from his initial 1904 article in “Auk: The Quarterly Journal of Ornithology,” a publication that has run over 100 years and was honored in 2009 as one of the most influential journals of biology and medicine over the twentieth century, to the last article published months before his death on August 28, 1958 regarding the feeding habits and behavior of the gray squirrel. Box 19 also contains his professional correspondence with staff members within the Department of Herpetology as well as correspondence with David G. Nichols regarding the acquisition of Nichols’ materials and inventories of Nichols’ journals and turtles from the William Floyd Estate.

John T. Nichols journals were microfilmed and are held at the American Museum of Natural History; this collection contains photocopies of the microfilmed journals in addition to original desk diaries and journals, not all of which are reproduced from the microfilmed copies.

The collection is divided into the following four series: Series I, N531: Photocopied Journals Volumes 1-28 with Bibliography, 1904-1958 Series II, N532: Original Desk Diaries and Journals, 1893-1988, bulk 1893-1958 Series III, N532: Photocopied Journals, 1924-1958 Series IV, N532: Miscellaneous, 1908-1989, bulk 1910-1958