George Chambers papers
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: 1925-1976
The bulk of these papers document George Chambers’ professional involvement in Tucson Newspapers Inc., Arizona Silhouettes, and El Archivo de Hidalgo del Parral. Materials also include research files Chambers collected as an amateur historian. A small selection consists of personal correspondence and photographs. The collection features correspondence, photographs and maps, illustrations, and very limited audio materials.
George W. Chambers (1901-1978) was born in Kansas and became a Tucson resident in 1910. He attended the University of Arizona.
In 1923 he joined the staff of the Tucson Daily Citizen and in 1931 joined the Arizona Daily Star. In 1940 he played a principal role in the Joint Operating Agreement between the Citizen and the Star to form Tucson Newspapers Inc. He was business manager of Tucson Newspapers Inc., retiring in 1970.
Chambers is also known for Arizona Silhouettes, a publishing company he founded with his son, Dale, in 1950. The family-run operation reprinted rare, old books telling stories and historical accounts Arizona and Sonora.
Another one of Chambers' pursuits involved the microfilm preservation of El Archivo de Hidalgo del Parral. Consisting of more than 360,000 manuscript pages, these colonial-era records (1631-1821) document Nueva Vizcaya, a province of New Spain that included Arizona and New Mexico.
Chambers was also an amateur historian and civic leader. He was a member of the Arizona Board of Regents 1961-69 and was president in 1967.
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