Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Journal and Drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff
mssHM 8044
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Journal and Drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff
Dates: 1849-1853
Collection Call Number: mssHM 8044
Creator:
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough,1804-1889.
Extent:
265 items
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: manuscripts@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The collection contains J. Goldsborough Bruff's oversize revised version of his journal (c. 1853), which
documents his journey across the American plains in
1849 by way of Lassen's Trail. Also included in the collection are 264 drawings of scenes from his overland journey, of
various places
he visited in California, and of his sea voyage to the Eastern United States via Mexico and Panama.
Language of Material: The records are in English
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
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.
[Identification of item], Journal and drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from A.S.W. Rosenbach, 1919.
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 1827-1836 he worked as a
topographical engineer, predominantly at Gosport Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1837
and from 1838-1849 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.
The collection contains J. Goldsborough Bruff's oversize revised version of his journal (c. 1853) which documents his journey
across the American plains in
1849 by way of Lassen's Trail. Also included in the collection are 264 drawings of scenes from his overland journey, of
various places
he visited in California, and of his sea voyage to the Eastern United States via Mexico and Panama. Many of Bruff's drawings
are in pencil,
but thirty-eight of them were drawn with pastels and are in color.
Alternative Form of Materials Available
Visit the
Huntington Digital Library
to view digitized items from this collection.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
- Journal [of an overland journey to California by way of the Oregon and Lassen trails]. 1849 Aug. 28 - 1850 Oct. 9 (mssHM 252)
- Joseph Goldsborough Bruff letter to James Tyler Ames, 1849, January 30 (mssHM 43068)
- Joseph Goldsborough Bruff letter to the "President of the United States" with a poem "To the promoters of disunion," 1860, Dec 10-17 (mssHM 72872)
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough,1804-1889
Washington City and California Mining Association.
Overland journeys to the Pacific--History--Sources.
California--Description and travel.
California--Pictorial works.
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.
West (U.S.)--Pictorial works.
Drawings--California--19th century.
Drawings--West (U.S.)--19th century.
Journals (accounts)--California--19th century.
Journals (accounts)--West (U.S.)--19th century.
Pastels--California--19th century.
Pastels--West (U.S.)--19th century.