Chow family collection

Series 1: Business and legal files. The first series consists of business and legal files of William Jack Chow. The files are arranged in alphabetical order by subject. These files concern both Chow's career as a lawyer and a businessman. The folders may contain a combination of business records, case files, correspondence, financial records, legal documents, memoranda, and securities. Chow also frequently traveled to Hong Kong for work. Those files are also found in this series and they span from the 1950s through 1970s. A subject of interest includes the Supreme Court of the United States landmark decision to uphold affirmative action in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. At the end of this series are Chow's books primarily related to business and law. Note: Chow's appointment books and business cards are found in Series 2.

Series 2: Community and political files. The second series consists of community and political files. This series is arranged by genre and includes: address books and cards, appointment books, awards, business cards, bylaws, membership cards, plaques, political files, and subject files. As a strong advocate of the conservative wing of the Democratic Party, there are numerous material related to the Democratic National Convention in 1944, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1972. The other political files relate to politicians and include campaign mailers, presidential inaugurations, and programs. The subject files mostly relate to the Chow's community activities. These files primarily consist of printed ephemera related to that specific event or organization; however, there are some considerable items related to Anne Chow's work with the Chinatown Opti-Mrs. Club, Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, and YWCA.

Series 3: Personal files. The third series consists of personal material related to the Chow family. This series is arranged by genre and includes: bankbooks, currency, death certificates (copies), greeting cards, guestbooks, invitations, postcards, stamps, subject files, textbooks, travel ephemera, and yearbooks. The bulk of the greeting cards are from family and friends congratulating Jack and Anne Chow on their 25th and 50th wedding anniversary. There is also an abundance of travel ephemera, primarily postcards, from all over the world. The postcards that are blank are noted, while the postcards used by the Chow family are organized chronologically. The subject files primarily relate to Chow's education at Saint Mary's College and University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his continued involvement as an alumni. The textbooks are in Chinese and appear to be around or before the 1950s.

Series 4: General files. The final series is the General files. This is a catch-all series that consists of books, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs that may be related to the previous three series. The correspondence is arranged chronologically. The early letters from Anne to Jack written in the 1930s reveal obstacles with their relationship. Anne painfully writes, "My mother has forbidden me to go out with you because she's afraid that you would love me. And she emphasized very strongly that no matter what will happen, we can never have each other" (1932, June). In the 1950s, there are numerous letters from Jack updating family on his travels. There are also several letters from government officials, including Diane Feinstein in the 1970s. The photographs are roughly divided into four subjects: events, family, trips, and miscellaneous. The events include campaigns, ceremonies, funerals, reunions, parties, and weddings. The family photographs include birthdays, celebrations, gatherings, graduations, and portraits. The Chow family traveled frequently and their trips included Asia, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. Family portraits from various cruise lines are also part this section. Note: If there were negatives that accompanied the photographs, they were kept with together. The miscellaneous photographs include pictures of Chow's office, furniture, immigration and/or passport headshots, portraits from politicians and entertainers. The other ephemera found in this section includes clippings, invitations, menus, newspapers, periodicals, and programs.

Series 5: Oversize. The series consists of oversize material. Box 149 contains awards, certificates, and scrolls. Box 150 consists of photographs, some are enlarged versions found in the previous series. Box 151 contains a scrapbook related to Jack Chow's activities in the 1960s. Boxes 152-153 include newspapers from 1957-1961. There is a painting of the late Jeffrey Jason Chow in Box 154. The two folders consist of additional oversize awards, certificates, and photographs. Most of the material found in this series were removed from frames.

Series 6. Additional material. The series contains passports, handbooks, booklets, and miscellaenous ephemera.