Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Processing Information
Arrangement
General
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John B. Goodman collection
Identifier/Call Number: mssGoodman
Physical Description:
22.86 Linear Feet
(35 boxes and 3 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1919-1991
Abstract: This collection consists of thirty-five boxes and three oversize folders concerning the California Gold Rush vessels, California
county histories, and miscellaneous ephemera and illustrations.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John B. Goodman collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John B. Goodman, October 1991.
Biographical / Historical
John Bartlett Goodman III, (1901-1991) was born in Denver, Colorado and moved to California by the age of three, first to
San Diego and then to Los Angeles in 1916. After high school he worked in an architect's office, but left in 1920 after a
short time to join the art department of the Famous Players Lasky Company, an early motion picture company. Shortly after
joining, Goodman became interested in maritime history and sailing ships. Goodman's forty-seven year professional career in
the motion picture industry included work on 252 movies. He spent seventeen years with Paramount Studios, worked for Warner
Brothers Studios, and served as supervising art director from 1942 to 1945 for Universal Studios, after which, he pursued
a freelance career as an independent art director. Goodman retired from film work in 1967. He died on June 30, 1991 in Los
Angeles County, California.
Scope and Contents
The "California Gold Rush Fleet Encyclopedia of Vessels Sailing from the East Coast of the United States and Canada for San
Francisco, December 7, 1848-December 31, 1849" comprises individual histories of 762 ships as well as various subject files,
arranged in alphabetical order. Goodman records a broad spectrum of information derived from a variety of sources about the
multitude of Gold Rush vessels. The bulk of the manuscripts are photocopies and some are heavily annotated in the author's
hand. Some histories include hand-colored illustrations of maps and ships. They were written and edited between 1970 and 1991.
Note: This collection of factual data is also made available in tabular form for "instant recall" in The Key to the Goodman
Encyclopedia of the California Gold Rush Fleet as published by the Zamarano Club in 1992.
Boxes 1-12 contain the individual ship histories in alphabetical order. The addenda box includes various illustrations, lists,
and statistics regarding the California Gold Rush vessels. The contents are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Boxes 13-18 contain the original typescripts to "Goodman's Encyclopedia of the California Gold Rush Fleet." The contents are
arranged alphabetically by ship name.
Boxes 19-23 and boxes 32-35 consist of manuscripts and related matter regarding the California Gold Rush. Box 19 contains
another version of Goodman's Gold Rush encyclopedia with very few corrections. Folders 5 and 6 are Goodman's draft of factual
data in tabular form entitled "The John B. Goodman III Cellular Computer for the 1849 Gold Rush Fleet." Also included is a
manuscript of "For California: Direct in 1849-List of Mining Companies Formed in Various States & Sailed from Various Atlantic
Seaports." The last two items are photocopies and miscellaneous notes from the San Jose Pioneer.
Boxes 20-21 consist of manuscripts and notes removed from three binders. The first binder housed miscellaneous materials accumulated
by Goodman pertaining to the California Gold Rush vessels. Subjects found in this binder included a tally of Gold Rush vessels
built, a list of ship and map illustrations, a list of arrival and departures, bibliography of works consulted, list of mining
companies sailing for California, names of captains and their vessels, list of store ships, and other assorted lists. The
second binder consisted of "Boats Arriving in San Francisco Bay," which are notes and excerpts extracted from the San Francisco
Weekly, Tri-Weekly, and Daily Alta California. Also removed from this binder is an orange folder with a chronological list
of vessels sailing from New York for California and Way Ports from December 7, 1848-December 31, 1849. The third binder consisted
of "The 1849 'California Fleet' Excerpts from original Diaries and Journals consulted by John B. Goodman 3rd." The last two
items in box 21 are two books: "Index to the Argonauts of California" by Charles Warren Haskins and "A Reminiscence of Parker
H. French Expedition through Texas & Mexico to California in the Spring of 1850."
Boxes 22-23 consist of clippings, notes, journals, photographs, printed matter, and other materials related to the California
Gold Rush. The excerpts and notes are from various publications, which include the Boston Daily Evening Transcript, New York
Daily Herald, and New York Tribune. The photographs consist of images of the West from Goodman's personal collection and reproductions
of San Francisco photographs from the San Francisco Public Library. The manuscripts and printed matter include personal stories,
autobiographies, and journeys of individuals such as Meredith Tarlton Moore, a soldier in the Mexican War and a trader on
the California Trail, and Jacob Marhoffer, a prominent citizen of Crescent City, California.
Boxes 32-33 contain copies of pages from the California Gold Rush Fleet Encyclopedia. Box 34 contains a copy of a separate
manuscript compiled by John B. Goodman: The Ship Henry Lee. Box 35 contains research materials pertaining to the California
Gold Rush Fleet Encyclopedia.
Boxes 24-27 include materials related to Goodman's unpublished manuscript "An Annotated Bibliography of California County
Histories." Boxes 24-25 are photocopies of the typescript. Box 26 contains another version of Goodman's California county
histories. These were once contained in a binder and appear to be an earlier version of the photocopies in boxes 24 and 25.
Box 27 includes additional pages from Goodman's bibliography. The bulk of these pages are fragments and duplicates. Other
contents in box 27 include correspondence, maps, notes, negatives and prints related to California counties.
Illustrations are found in boxes 28-29 and two oversize folders. Box 28 includes pen and ink and rough sketches for John W.
Wood, an unknown manuscript, in Goodman's hand. The bulk of these illustrations depict life on the Overland Trails and in
the mines. The first folder consists of miscellaneous notes and maps regarding these illustrations. The contents are arranged
alphabetically by the caption or title of the illustration. Some of these illustrations include preliminary sketches and prints.
Box 29 includes 33 folders of miscellaneous illustrations and ephemera. The bulk of these illustrations are in the hand of
Goodman while others are prints. They were possibly done in relation to his work as an art director for Paramount and Universal
Studios from 1932 to 1946. The first oversize folder contains thirty-three printed illustrations for the Thompson and West
publication of "History of Santa Barbara County, California." The second oversize folder consists of four miscellaneous sketches
and ephemera. Oversize folder 3 contains photocopies of a ship's newspaper called The Petrel.
Boxes 30-31 include Goodman's research-related correspondence and notebooks he used to keep track of various subjects.
Cataloger's Notes
Goodman's autograph notes and corrections appear throughout the collection.
Some of the ship histories include an empty envelope with notes; in some instances, the envelope does not bear any writing.
Goodman also commonly used the back and front of letters for his notes and manuscripts. This is seen throughout the collection.
There are duplicates and variations of Goodman's manuscripts and notes in parts of the collection. For instance, certain lists
found in Box 12: Addenda could also be found in the manuscripts and notes removed from a binder in box 20.
Processing Information
Processed by Gina C. Giang in 2014. In 2022, Kelly Kress processed box 35 and updated the finding aid to include boxes 30-35
and folder 3.
Arrangement
Organized in four sections:
- Boxes 1-23; Boxes 32-35: Goodman's Gold Rush encyclopedia and related matter
- Boxes 24-27: California county histories and related matter
- Boxes 28-29 and oversize folders: Ephemera and illustrations
- Boxes 30-31: Correspondence and notebooks
General
Former call number: mssGoodmancollection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Art direction -- Designs and plans
Barks (Sailing ships)
Costume design
Mineral industries -- California
Overland journeys to the Pacific -- Personal narratives
Overland journeys to the Pacific -- Pictorial works
Sailing ships
Schooners
Steamships
Voyages and travels
Voyages to the Pacific coast -- Personal narratives
California -- Gold discoveries -- Personal narratives
California -- Gold discoveries -- Pictorial works
California -- Bibliography
California -- History -- 1846-1850
California -- History, Local -- Bibliography
Bibliographies -- United States -- 20th century
Biographies (documents)--United States -- 20th century
Illustrations (process)--United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence)--United States -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th century
Photographs -- United States -- 20th century
Preliminary sketches (sketches)--United States -- 20th century
Printed ephemera -- United States -- 20th century
Sketches -- United States -- 20th century