Collection Summary
Jack Delano Papers
1927-1995
1941-1943
1927-1995
1941-1943
MSS84274
Delano, Jack, 1914-1997
700 items
6 containers plus 1 oversize
2.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Photographer and illustrator.
Correspondence, notebooks, caption books, and an oral history interview relating to
Delano as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War
Information. Also material related to Elizabeth Kenny.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC
Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and
by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Delano, Jack, 1914-1997.
Kenny, Elizabeth, 1886-1952.
Organizations
Archives of American Art.
United States. Farm Security Administration.
United States. Office of War Information.
Subjects
Acadians--Maine.
Depressions--1929.
Farmers--Maine.
Photography.
Railroads--West (U.S.)
Places
Maine--Description and travel.
Puerto Rico--Description and travel.
Southern States--Description and travel.
Virgin Islands--Description and travel.
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.
Occupations
Composers.
Illustrators.
Motion picture producers.
Photographers.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Jack Delano, photographer and illustrator, were given to the Library of
Congress by Delano in 1996 and transferred from the Prints and Photographs Division to
the Manuscript Division in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Jack Delano were arranged and described by Melinda K. Friend in 1999. The
register was revised in 2007. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as
part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
Transfers
Some photographs were retained by the Prints and Photographs Division.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Jack Delano in these papers and in other
collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult a reference
librarian in the Manuscript Division for further information.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Jack Delano are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the
Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and
advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Jack Delano Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1914, Aug. 1
Born Jacob Ovcharov, Kiev, Ukraine
circa 1922
Immigrated to the United States
1939
Married Irene Clara Esser
1939
1942
Photographer, Farm Security Administration
1942
1943
Photographer, Office of War Information
1944
1946
Military photographer, United States Army
1946
Moved to Puerto Rico
1997, Aug. 12
Died, Puerto Rico
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Jack Delano (1914-1997) span the years 1927-1995, with the bulk of the
items concentrated in the period 1941-1943. From 1939 to 1943, Delano worked as a
photographer first for the Farm Security Administration and then for the Office of War
Information under the direction of Roy Emerson Stryker. His photographs depicted the
Great Depression and documented the railroad industry from Chicago, Illinois, to New
Mexico, life in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, Acadian farmers in
Maine, and the American South, particularly Greene County, Georgia. Delano was often
accompanied on these trips by his wife, Irene Delano. Most photographs from the
collection are housed in the Prints and Photographs Division, but his notebooks and
caption books are contained in these papers. Of interest also is correspondence
concerning Delano's photography, an oral history interview conducted by the Archives of
American Art, and material related to Elizabeth Kenny.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in a personal file and a professional file and therein
alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Personal file
1
Articles and exhibits re the Farm Security
Administration, 1960-1963, 1979-1995, undated
1960-1963,
1979-1995, undated
(4 folders)
1
Military records, 1943-1951,
undated
1943-1951,
undated
1
Oral history interview, 1965-1966,
1983
1965-1966,
1983
1
Professional file
1
Captions
1
Farm Security Administration, 1940-1942, undated
1940-1942, undated
1
Folios 1603-1803
1
Nos. 20500-21464
2
Nos. 41025-41060, 41644-44046, 44096-48185
(2 folders)
2
Office of War Information,
1942-1943
1942-1943
2
Cartoons, undated
undated
2
Correspondence
2
1939-1942
1939-1942
(2 folders)
3
1943-1947, 1956-1965, 1971-1979, undated
1943-1947,
1956-1965, 1971-1979, undated
(2 folders)
3
Datebooks, 1940-1943
1940-1943
(3 folders)
4
Georgia, Greene County, 1939-1943,
undated
1939-1943,
undated
4
Miscellany, 1936, 1956-1957, undated
[
See also Oversize
](ov4)
1936, 1956-1957,
undated
4
New England, 1930-1940, undated
1930-1940,
undated
4
Notebooks
4
Air Transport Command, undated
undated
(3 folders)
4
Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railway,
1943
1943
(3 folders)
5
Chicago, Ill., railroads and the Senise
family, 1942-1943
1942-1943
5
Georgia, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico,
1941-1942
1941-1942
(2 folders)
5
Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, 1942
1942
5
Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa,
undated
undated
5
Military and ore boats, undated
undated
5
Minneapolis, Minn., 1942
1942
5
Miscellany, undated
undated
5
Puerto Rico, undated
undated
5
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico,
1941
1941
6
Puerto Rico
6
Captions, 1946
1946
6
Coanillas Hydro-Electric Project,
1946
1946
6
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,
1937-1946, undated
1937-1946, undated
(2 folders)
6
Railroads, 1927, 1941-1947, 1972,
undated
[
See also Oversize
](ov6)
1927, 1941-1947, 1972, undated
OV 1
Oversize
OV 1
Professional file
OV 1
Miscellany
OV 1
Maps, 1936
(Container 4)
1936
OV 1
Railroads
OV 1
Map, 1941 (Container
6)
1941
OV 1
Map, 1942 (Container
6)
1942