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Jini Dellaccio photographs, approximately 1940-2013

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Dellaccio, Jini
Title
Jini Dellaccio photographs
Dates
approximately 1940-2013 (inclusive)
Quantity
90 boxes and 2 oversize folders including photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and slides
Collection Number
PH1516
Summary
Photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and slides by Jini Dellaccio, a self-taught photographer whose career spanned the second half of the 20th century. Subjects include rock and roll bands, families and individuals, models, businesses, travel, and nature
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access restricted: For terms of access, contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

Some materials are stored off site; advance notice is required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Jini Dellaccio was born Jini Duckworth on a family farm in Indiana on January 31, 1917, to parents Paul and Merle. She was interested in music throughout her childhood, and after graduating from high school in 1935 she played the saxophone for several all-female swing jazz bands, including the Sweethearts of Swing. Her bands toured all over the United States, and Dellaccio initially continued her musical career in Chicago, where she moved with her husband, Carl, following their marriage in 1946. She soon changed careers and began studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was as a student that Dellaccio first became interested in photography when she took photographs to document her paintings.

Although she had no formal photography training, Dellaccio began a career as a freelance fashion photographer in 1953, when she and Carl moved to Long Beach, California. She continued her work following their move to Gig Harbor, Washington, in 1961. After a successful exhibit of her photographs at the Tacoma Art Museum, she shot the cover of The Wailers’ 1965 album Wailers, Wailers, Everywhere. Her work gained notice throughout the rock and roll community, and she soon began photographing other local bands based in the Pacific Northwest. She also photographed rock concerts at what was then known as the Seattle Coliseum. Some of the bands she photographed there include the Beach Boys, the Who, and the Rolling Stones.

In the 1970s, Dellaccio changed the focus of her photography from musicians and bands to architecture and other local businesses. After moving to Arizona in the 1990s, Jini Dellaccio returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2009. Although she was in her 90s by this time, she continued to exhibit her work at local galleries. Her career was also the subject of the 2013 documentary Her Aim is True, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Jini Dellaccio died on July 3, 2014 at the age of 97.

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Content Description

Photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and slides by Jini Dellaccio, a self-taught photographer whose career spanned the second half of the 20th century. Many of the photographs feature rock and roll bands, including portraits of Neil Young, the Beach Boys, the Who, and the Rolling Stones, as well as many well-known local bands from the Pacific Northwest. Other photographs feature subjects including models and fashion, families and individuals, travel, nature, schools, businesses, and more. Also included are advertisements featuring Dellaccio’s photographs, publicity materials for exhibits of her work, correspondence and ephemera related to her career, and photographs and artwork by other artists.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 13 series:

  • Series 1, Rock and Roll, 1963-2009
  • Series 2, Family and People, 1940s-1990
  • Series 3, Fashion and Models, 1960-1990
  • Series 4, Travel and Nature, 1958-1991
  • Series 5, Homes and Businesses, 1959-1991
  • Series 6, Art and Culture, 1950s-1970s
  • Series 7, Schools, 1960-1988
  • Series 8, Stock Images, 1960s-1990s
  • Series 9, Miscellaneous and Unidentified, 1960s-1980s
  • Series 10, Advertisements and Publications, 1950s-2013
  • Series 11, Business Correspondence, 1959-2012
  • Series 12, Other Artists, 1960s-2013
  • Series 13, Family Papers, 1962-1973

Acquisition Information

Donor: Sarah Cavanaugh, 2016.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2017 (Last modified: 6/30/2020)

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