Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Georgia Willis Read Papers
- Dates:
- 1849-1951, bulk 1932-1951
- Creators:
- Read, Georgia Willis
- Abstract:
- This collection contains research material compiled by American historian and author Georgia William Read and Ruth Gaines for their publication of the journal of California Gold Rush topographer and artist J. Goldsborough Bruff (1804-1899), dating primarily from the 1930s to early 1950s.
- Extent:
- 7.7 Linear Feet (15 boxes)
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Georgia Willis Read papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains research material compiled by American historian and author Georgia William Read and Ruth Gaines for their publication of the journal of California Gold Rush topographer and artist J. Goldsborough Bruff (1804-1899) The majority of it is arranged alphabetically by topic. This series is made up mostly of research notes by Read and Gaines. The research material also includes copies of the book's acknowledgement, bibliography, introduction, and index as well as Read and Gaines' correspondence with Columbia University Press. There are a few folders of material organized by type: miscellaneous notes (4 folders) and research notebooks (7 items, one of which is in oversize).
Correspondence by Read and Gaines are mostly their retained, unsigned, copies. The correspondence is chiefly letters written between them and research libraries or other scholars to obtain information for or to obtain permission to publish material in their book. Notable participants are: Herbert Eugene Bolton, Frederick Coykendall, Edward Eberstadt, Francis Farquhar, Max Farrand, Frederick Webb Hodge, C. Hart Merriam, Herbert Priestley, the Bancroft Library, California Historical Society, California State Library, Henry E. Huntington Library, Library of Congress, United States National Archives, the Newberry Library, Smithsonian Institution, Southwest Museum and Yale University Library.
The ephemera contains scholarly publications, clippings, maps, index cards, an oversize sheet with copies of several of Bruff's sketches, and several photostats. The photostats include 19th century newspapers (including two Native American publications: Cherokee advocate and Vinita leader), maps (including all four parts of the "Map of the Emigrant Road from Independence, Mo. To S. Francisco" by T. H. Jefferson), and Bruff's journal. Many of the photostats are rolled.
Subjects covered by the collection are: Hubert Howe Bancroft, Joseph Goldsborough Bruff, Bruff's journey, camp, sketches and journal, Edwin Bryant, Alonzo Delano, John Charles Frémont, Peter Lassen, John Muir, Fort Hall (Idaho), frontier and pioneer life in early California, Indians in North America, overland journeys to the Pacific, the California Trail, the Lassen cutoff and National Park, and California history including the Gold Rush.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Georgia Willis Read, historian and author, was the daughter of Dr. George Willis Read, who led a company across the plains in 1850 to California. Georgia attended Smith College and served with the Smith College Relief Unit in France during World War I. She published Médoc in the Moor in 1914 and edited A Pioneer of 1850: George Willis Read, 1819-1880: the Record of a Journey Overland from Independence, Missouri to Hangtown, California in 1927. In 1944, she and Ruth Gaines edited Gold rush: the Journals, Drawings, and Other Papers of J. Goldsborough Bruff.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Philip N. Cronenwett, Dartmouth College Library, September 1980.
- Processing information:
-
1. J. Goldsborough Bruff is the subject of 95% of the collection so he is not subject indexed.
2. Due to the nature of the collection (research material) much of the collection contained unsorted items that were kept together as Read had it; Read's original order was kept in most of the collection. Also, correspondence can be found in research material folders and the same subjects may be found in several different folders.
3. The correspondence between Read, Gaines and Columbia University Press, the publisher of the Bruff volume, can be found in Research Material not Correspondence.
4. Correspondence from research institutions can be found under institution name. The folders and container list below lists the specific authors or signers of the letters. When the research institutions are the recipients of the letters, they are listed as the addressee but the folders and container list also lists the specific addressees of the letters.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized in the following manner:
- Boxes 1-6: Research Material
- Boxes 7-8: Correspondence
- Boxes 9-10: Ephemera
- Boxes 11-12: Index Cards
- Boxes 13-15: Oversize
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- California
Indians of North America
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th century
Maps -- United States -- 19th century
Maps -- United States -- 20th century
Research notes -- United States -- 20th century - Names:
- Bancroft Library
California Historical Society
California State Library
Columbia University. Press
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
Library of Congress
National Archives (U.S.)
Newberry Library
Smithsonian Institution
Society of California Pioneers
Southwest Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Yale University. Library
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1832-1918
Bolton, Herbert Eugene, 1870-1953
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889
Bryant, Edwin, 1805-1869
Coykendall, Frederick, 1872-1954
Delano, Alonzo, 1806-1874
Farquhar, Francis Peloubet, 1887-1974
Eberstadt, Edward, 1883-1958
Farrand, Max, 1869-1945
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890
Gaines, Ruth, 1877-1952
Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956
Lassen, Peter, 1800-1859
Merriam, C. Hart (Clinton Hart), 1855-1942
Muir, John, 1838-1914
Priestley, Herbert Ingram, 1875-1944
Read, Georgia Willis. Gold rush : the journals, drawing, and other papers of J. Goldsborough Bruff, captain, Washington City and California Mining Association, April 2, 1849-July 20, 1851 - Places:
- California -- Gold discoveries
California -- History -- 19th century
California National Historic Trail
Fort Hall (Idaho)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (Calif.)
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-10-13 13:31:46 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- 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]. Georgia Willis Read papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191