Ornithologist and curator of birds in the Museum of Zoology, and professor of zoology at University of Michigan. Correspondence and other papers concerning his interest in birds, his activities with the Wilson Ornithological Club, and his scientific expeditions to Indochina and British Honduras in the late Twenties; and papers on student life at Harvard University, 1922-1925; also photographs.
The Josselyn Van Tyne papers consist of correspondence and other papers concerning his interest in birds, his activities with the Wilson Ornithological Club, and his scientific expeditions to Indochina and British Honduras in the late Twenties; and papers on student life at Harvard University, 1922-1925 and photographs. The collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Other Materials; and Photographs. Correspondents in the collection include Thomas Barbour, Alfred B. Connable, Harold J. Coolidge, Lee R. Dice, Frederick M. Gaige, Harry G. Kipke, David Rockefeller, and Norman A. Wood.
The Photographs are of scientific expeditions to Indochina (1928-1930), Texas (1928-1935), British Honduras and Guatemala (1931), Yucatan, Mexico (1936), and Bylot Island, Northwest Territories, Canada (1950s). The photos include local populations and scenery as well as activities of expedition members. The Guatemala and Yucatan expeditions files contain photos of Mayan ruins, especially Chichén Itzá.