The Emile Chourré and Chourré Family Papers are comprised of documents and scrapbooks, photographic prints, negatives, and photograph albums, and assorted ephemera pertaining to the life and military career of Lieutenant Commander Emile Chourré (1894-1938). Major topics include Chourré's military service, especially while stationed in Coco Solo, Panama; his service as a U.S. Naval announcer for the 1929-1931 and 1933-1934 National Air Races; and family (immediate and extended) photographs.

Series I, Emile Chourré, 1916-1977 has been broken into three sub-series: Military-related, National Air Races, and Personal. The Military-related subseries is by far the largest and has been further divided by format into textual materials and photographic materials. The textual materials sub-subseries has an accompanying sub-subseries for Chourre's death.

Textual materials include Chourré's pilot logs, jackets [folders of military records] and identity cards, instructional materials, and military orders; correspondence, to and from military personnel and to family members from Chourré; coursework and diploma from U.S. Navy Postgraduate School, and assorted ephemera, such as clippings, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation lithographs, and squadron insignia artwork drawn by Chourré.

Materials in the death sub-subseries include memorial newspaper clippings, and a 1977 inquiry by Jack Chourré, Emile’s son, into the accident that Emile died in. The inquiry materials include an original order, dated January 23, 1938 for Chourré to fly a Curtiss SOC-3 (No. 1069) Seagull to Naval Air Station San Diego, California, a black-and-white 8x10" photograph of a SOC-3 aircraft, an August 16, 1977 letter from the Department of the Navy explaining that Lt. Commander Chourré was on a ferry flight from San Diego to Scott Field, Illinois and fatally crashed into a blimp mooring mast, and a September 2, 1977 letter from Joel Pritchard, Congressman to Jack Chourré advising Jack of the Navy information. It also includes commemorative materials related to U. S. Navy ship USS Chourré named in Emile Chourré's honor. Additional materials indirectly related to Emile’s death can be found in Box Four, Folders 8-9 (condolence and commemorative correspondence sent to Catherine, his widow).

The photographic materials include loose photographs, two negatives, and two photograph albums. Photographs range in size and, in this section, are black-and-white. Many images include captions either near the image or on the image, providing contextual information such as name, year, or location. Some have stamps for "United States Air Force." Duplication occurs. Images include portraits and two negatives of Chourré, photographs of military personnel (with and without aircraft), assorted aircraft, in flight, on the water, and on the ground; assorted naval ships, bases and buildings, and locations, including Washington D.C. and Hawaii. In the two photograph albums are approximately 570 photographs taken from 1918-1920 while Chourré was stationed in Coco Solo, Panama, Canal Zone (CZ). The albums include images that feature aircraft, military personnel, locations, ships, and scenic shots of the area, as well as a few pictures of indigenous people.

The subseries National Air Races (NAR) includes five (5) scrapbooks for the 1929-1931 and 1933-1934 races. The scrapbooks are primarily clippings although most include at least one photograph, depicting either Emile Chourré or naval aircraft and/or squadrons. Materials are affixed with glue, though some have come loose and the pages have begun to ripple. Additional materials include a 1936 NAR program, assorted loose newspaper clippings about NAR events and competitors, and four black-and-white portraits of Chourré, in uniform as the U.S. Navy radio announcer.

The personal subseries contains textual materials such as assorted diplomas, including grade school, high school, and university; membership materials for fraternal organizations, and a life insurance record.

Series II, Family, 1889-1988 has been divided into five subseries: Catherine (Emile’s wife), Jeanne (daughter), Jack (son), immediate, and extended. Each subseries contains photographic prints and most include additional textual materials, with the exception of Jeanne. The photographs vary in size, from 2x2" to 16x20" and are primarily black-and-white with some color images in the extended family section. Many images include captions either near the image or on the image, providing contextual information such as name, year, or location. Duplication occurs.

The immediate family subseries includes 138 group portraits and snapshots of a mix of at least two members (i.e. Jeanne and Jack or Catherine, Jeanne, and Jack, etc.). The bulk of the photographs depict Jeanne and Jack together in various settings. Additional materials include family financial records and assorted ephemera, such as a Chourré family bookplate, Christmas card, andThe World Book of Chourres [sic].

The extended family subseries includes primarily photographic prints featuring Catherine’s extended family, including her parents, Jefferson “Jeff” and Carrie (Cornell) Davis; and pen-and-wash drawings of Carrie’s parents, Hiram and Sarah Ann (Haight) Cornell. Other identified individuals include Jack’s children, Clinton and Ceci, and wife, Karen. Additionally, a few photographs that include individuals who are likely family but who have not been positively identified are in this folder. Additional materials relate primarily to Jeff Davis and include fraternal organization materials, including membership certificates and handbooks and his 1902 life insurance policy. Also included isThe Company Commander booklet, a 1988 Naval training yearbook which features a picture of Jack’s son, Clinton.

Series III, General, 1919-1970 includes primarily black-and-white photographs of locations, including Hawaii, which has both black-and-white and hand-colored images; Pacific Northwest mountain peaks, such as Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, and Diamond Peak, and unidentified locations and buildings. There are also souvenir booklets and photographic postcards for Australia, Hawaii, and Mill Valley and Crater Lake, California; assorted aviation-related clippings (non-military or NAR); two panoramic lithographs, one of which is a LZ-130 airship cutaway; postal stamps, including one for the Canal Zone; oversize maps of San Diego and California coastal areas; a 1936-1937 Port of San Diego booklet and a February 1930 issue of San Diego magazine and a 1947 calendar featuring contemporaneous aircraft.