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Bruff (J. Goldsborough) Poems and Drawings
mssBruff
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: J. Goldsborough Bruff poems and drawings
Creator:
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889
Identifier/Call Number: mssBruff
Physical Description:
0.1 Linear Feet
(1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1849-1884
Abstract: Photocopies of poems and drawings by J. Goldsborough Bruff.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Nellie Hewitt Stinchcomb via Nellie Jackson Proctor, June 1991.
Arranged chronologically.
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.
[Identification of item]. J. Goldsborough Bruff poems and drawings, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Processed by Kelly Kress in April 2022.
Related Materials at the Huntington
- Joseph Goldsborough Bruff letter to James Tyler Ames mssHM 43068
- Joseph Goldsborough Bruff letter to the "President of the United States" with a poem "To the promoters of disunion mssHM 72872
- Journal and Drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff mssHM 8044
- Journal [of an overland journey to California by way of the Oregon and Lassen trails] mssHM 252
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."
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Drawings (visual works)
Poetry
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889