Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Related Material
Title: Henry J. Bruman papers
Collection number: 1665
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
14.0 linear ft.
(13 record storage cartons and 1 oversize flat box)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1955-1970
Date (inclusive): circa 1935-2005
Abstract: Henry John Bruman joined the UCLA faculty in 1945, chaired its Department of Geography from 1957-62 and retired in 1983 as
professor emeritus. Bruman specialized in Latin American cultural-historical geography, plant geography and land use in the
American West. The collection consists of photographs, memorabilia, research files, professional and teaching materials, field
notebooks, manuscripts, maps and publications.
Language of Materials: Materials are primarily in English, some materials in Spanish and German.
Physical location: Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Creator:
Bruman, Henry J.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are
retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Henry J. Bruman Papers (Collection 1665). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
The Henry J. Bruman papers were donated by Henry Bruman and boxed for transfer to the Manuscripts Division of the Department
of Special Collections on 21 August 1996 by Charlotte B. Brown. The files were located in Bruman's academic office, Bunche
Hall. An addition of Bruman's professional and research files were transferred to the University Archives in October and November
2011, and January 2012.
Processing Information
This collection was preliminarily boxed and processed by University Archivist, Charlotte B. Brown, 2012. The collection had
undergone an initial sorting by Bruman before it was accessioned. Bruman was present when the collection was being boxed.
UCLA publications were weeded from Bruman files and transferred to the UCLA University Archives. Duplicates were weeded at
the time of reboxing. Kelly Besser completed processing in 2013.
Biography
Henry John Bruman was born in Berlin, Germany on March 25, 1913. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from UCLA in 1935
and the following year earned a B.A. in geography from UCLA. Bruman attended graduate school at the University of California,
Berkeley where he received his Ph.D. in geography in 1940 under the direction of Professor Carl O. Sauer. In 1945, Bruman
joined the UCLA Department of Geography, he chaired the department from 1957-1962 and remained at UCLA for over four decades
until his retirement as professor emeritus. In 1961 Bruman founded the largest academic map library in the United States at
UCLA which was named in his honor in 1987. Bruman was known as an expert in Latin American cultural-historical geography,
plant geography and land use in the American West. His dissertation, "Aboriginal Drink Areas in New Spain" was published sixty
years later as a book entitled,
Alcohol in Ancient Mexico. Bruman died on March 6, 2005 at his Westwood home.
Scope and Content
The Bruman papers span from circa 1935 to 2005 with the bulk of the materials dating from the mid-1950’s to 1970. Much of
the collection consists of Bruman’s subject research files, course lectures, and project files. The collection also includes
photographs, memorabilia, professional and departmental materials, field notebooks, manuscripts, maps and publications.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection was boxed as Bruman reviewed his office contents; the order was determined by Bruman. The collection has been
arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Research and professional materials
- Series 2: Teaching materials
- Subseries 2.1: UCLA projects and geography departmental records
- Subseries 2.2: Geography course materials
- Series 3: Field notebooks, manuscripts and publications
- Series 4: Personal photos, files and memorabilia
Related Material
The following oral history is available through the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research:
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bruman, Henry J.--Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles--Dept. of Geography--Faculty--Archival resources.
Geography teachers--California--Los Angeles--Archives.
Photographs.