Douglas J. Chu collection

Collection

Identifier: 2012.008-2015.037

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of photographs and paper materials documenting Douglas J. Chu's family from the 1900s-1975. The photographs are in black and white and color, and they range in size. Many of the photographs are labelled with a date, name, and location on the back. The majority of the photographs are from Donald Typond, Douglas Chu's first cousin once removed (his mother's first cousin). The paper materials consist of affidavits, birth and marriage certificates, awards, account books, journals, newspaper and magazine clippings, invitations, correspondence, donation receipts, and letterhead. Objects are also searchable via PastPerfect Online System at http://mocanyc.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found in 1900s-1975

Language of Materials

Some materials are in Chinese.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

For reference use only; not for reproduction, distribution, or deposit in another collection. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Director of Collections. If publishing, cite: Douglas J. Chu Collection, Museum of Chinese in America.

Biographical / Historical

Douglas J. Chu is an attorney at Hynes and Chu, LLP, in New York, New York. He is a third generation resident of New York's Chinatown. His maternal grandfather, James Yip Typond, had an insurance office at 40 Mott Street called either Typond and Lee or China Loan Company. His business partner was Shavey Lee, the first mayor of Chinatown. Chu's great grandfather owned a store on Doyer Street (Soy Kee Importers), and his grandparents owned a restaurant on 32 Mott Street. In addition, his grandmother was a vaudeville performer in the 1920s and 1930s.