J. Goldsborough Bruff poems and drawings, 1849-1884

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Summary

Creators:
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889
Abstract:
Photocopies of poems and drawings by J. Goldsborough Bruff.
Extent:
0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. J. Goldsborough Bruff poems and drawings, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Photocopies of four poems and two drawings by J. Goldsborough Bruff. Poems include "Invitation" (1850); an untitled poem about the SS Central America disaster, a steamship carrying gold prospected from California and several hundred passengers that sunk in a hurricane (1857); "Life's Voyage" (1884); and "Recovering from the Small-pox" (undated). Drawings include "A Delicious Bit of Scandal," depicting two women talking (1849); and an undated sketch of a house entitled "Genevese, Lake of Geneva."

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Goldsborough Bruff (1804-1899) is best known as a topographer, journalist, and artist of the gold rush era. Bruff was born in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1804. He attended West Point from 1820 until his resignation in 1822, when he left to sail, as a cabin boy, to Europe and South America in 1822. From 1827 to 1836 he worked as a topographical engineer, predominantly at Gosport Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1837 and from 1838 to 1849 worked for the United States Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Bruff then organized the Washington City and California Mining Association, which he accompanied to California on its overland journey in 1849. While in California he produced extensive journals and drawings of the mining camp experience. In 1853 Bruff returned to Washington, D.C., where he worked in office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department until his death on April 14, 1889.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Nellie Hewitt Stinchcomb via Nellie Jackson Proctor, June 1991.
Processing information:

Processed by Kelly Kress in April 2022.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. J. Goldsborough Bruff poems and drawings, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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