California material reflecting the state’s layered history—missions and settlement, travel and observation, agriculture, religion, and visual culture. This curated group includes books, prints, and ephemera that document California as both idea and place, from early encounters to the shaping of its regional identity.
New York: Harper's Weekly, 1890. 11 different view of Los Angeles: 1. Lawn on Figueroa Street, 2. The Crocker Mansion, 3. Typical House, 4. Smothered in Roses, 5. The Plaza and the Mission Church, 6. Palms on San Pedro Street, 7. View on Spring Street, 8. Avenue of Palms, Longstreet.....
San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1963. Photographs By Ansel Adams. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. This 1963 guide pairs vivid descriptions with Ansel Adams' famous black-and-white photographs to capture Yosemite’s stunning landscapes and ecological importance. With a practical layout that includes maps and location insights, the book serves as both a navigational.....
![Item #20251 Sixty Years of California Song [Decorative Cloth Bindings] [Genealogical...](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/20251.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1744319805)
Oakland: Sunset Publishing for M.B. Alverson/, 1913. First Edition, First Printing. Margaret Blake Alverson's offers a personal and historical exploration of California's musical heritage. The narrative intertwines Alverson's own experiences as a public singer with reflections on her father's Christian ministry, providing readers with a unique perspective on the state's.....
California: Self published, 1930s. HISTORICL CONTEXT —Compiled during a period of expanding automobile travel and regional tourism, the album reflects the growing accessibility of Northern California’s scenic destinations in the interwar years. Locations such as Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake were increasingly popular as leisure destinations, while the San Francisco.....
![Item #21779 Cliff House Stereoview [San Francisco Coastal Landmark] [c. 1880s]. Anonymous...](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/21779.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1774206551)
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCEThe Cliff House is perhaps the most resilient landmark in San Francisco history, having been rebuilt five times following fires and structural failures. This view captures the era of the 'Long Bridge' and the early Seal Rocks excursions, a time when the site was the social heart of the.....
New York: Abbeville Press, 1995. Barnes, Richard [Photographer]. A definitive work on Julia Morgan's life and career. Boutelle's extensive research and the book's high-quality production make it an invaluable resource for those interested in architecture and the contributions of women in the field.The book examines Morgan's architectural journey, highlighting her.....
![Item #21654 The Brown Palace Hotel [Atrium Architecture] [Mid-Century Promotional Booklet]...](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/21654.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1782909580)
Denver: Brown Hotel Company, 1967. First Edition, First Printing. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE -- The Evolution of an American Grand HotelThe Brown Palace is one of the few grand hotels in America to have never closed its doors since its 1892 opening. This 1967 publication was produced at a pivotal moment when historic.....
![Item #18059 The Bracero [California - Mexico] [Author Signed]. Betty War Brusa](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/18059.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1711638693)
New York: Pageant Press, 1966. Illustrated by Vivian Berger. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. The author, a lifelong resident of California, predominantly in the Salinas Valley, sets her "factual novel" within this familiar backdrop. "The Bracero" chronicles Diego's journey from his southern Mexican hometown to the United.....
Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1959. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: AN EARLY AUTHORITY ON GOLD RUSH CALIFORNIA. First published in Philadelphia by Lea and Blanchard in 1850, Buffum's narrative belongs to the earliest substantial firsthand accounts of the California Gold Rush. FROM SOLDIER TO GOLD SEEKER. Buffum's perspective is particularly valuable.....
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE -- Selling the Promise of the Pacific NorthwestThis booklet represents the height of the 'Railroad Colonization' era, where railway companies acted as the primary marketing agencies for Western expansion. By combining forces, the Burlington, Great Northern, and Northern Pacific offered a unified front to potential settlers. The explicit stated goal—to.....
Chicago: Poole Brothers, 1964. Many say the Califronia Zephyr is North America’s most scenic train.On its two night and three day journey the Zephyr passes through mountain ranges and deserts. It crosses the Mississippi, snakes alongside the Colorado through the Rockies and traverses the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in California.Such.....
USA: Cook Tours, 1954. Folded Brochure. From the halcyon days of post-war travel. An escorted tour(s) featuring famous trains 'City of San Francisco' and 'Grand Canyon Limited' each from Chicago.
Hartford, Conn. A. D. Worthington and Company, 1883. Second Printing. FRONTIER DOCUMENTATION: THE AMERICAN WEST RECORDED. Published during the period of western expansion and conflict, 'Our Wild Indians' represents one of the many nineteenth-century attempts to document Native peoples, customs, and frontier encounters through firsthand accounts. Dodge’s long military career.....
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1890. First Edition, First Printing. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —Henry T. Finck was more than a music critic; he was a 'tastemaker' of the Gilded Age. His 'Scenic Tour' was published at a moment when the completion of the major transcontinental lines allowed for a new kind.....
![Item #21655 Colorado Yesterdays [Signed by the Author] [Pikes Peak Pioneer History]. Dora Inez...](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/21655.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1771699570)
Colorado Springs: Dentan Printing Co., 1961. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE --Dora Inez Foster represents the 'Pioneer Journalist' tradition of the American West. Her work in 'Colorado Yesterdays' serves as a primary source for the social history of the Pikes Peak region, preserving names and anecdotes that often escape broader state histories. For.....
New York: Harper's Weekly, 1878. Illustration by Frenzeny, P. [Paul]. A strong example of California & Western Americana, with direct relevance to the California mission system—including Pala Mission and the ruins of San Luis Rey—and early California wine and citrus cultivation, making it of interest to collectors of Western religious.....
RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION. Gifford's Columbia River work is substantially represented in institutional collections, particularly the Benjamin A. Gifford Photographs at Oregon State University. Surviving negatives and positives provide independent confirmation for several photographs in this group and assist in dating individual images to the period circa 1899–1908. The accompanying illustrated.....
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: RAILROADING THROUGH THE COLUMBIA GORGE. Gifford records the railroad at the intersection of transportation and landscape that characterized the Columbia River at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Chicago Special represented the growing integration of the Pacific Northwest into national passenger rail networks, while the photograph places.....
![Item #22117 Six Years with the Texas Rangers 1875–1881 [Lakeside Classics Edition]. James B....](https://blindhorsebooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/22117.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1782511449)
Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1943. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —James B. Gillett served in the Texas Rangers during a period when the organization was helping establish law and order across a rapidly developing state. His memoir remains one of the most important firsthand accounts produced by a Ranger officer.....
New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1957. Hardcover in Dust Jacket. A factual and fascinating account of the history, life and lore of California's vital inland sea.
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1932. First Edition, First Printing. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — THE CLOSING OF THE MINING FRONTIER. Published during the early twentieth century, Gold in Them Hills preserves the history of the West's final great mining booms while many participants and eyewitnesses were still living. Glasscock combines historical research with.....
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: CALIFORNIA RELIGIOUS THEATRE. Clay M. Greene wrote Nazareth for Santa Clara College's Golden Jubilee celebration in 1901. The production proved so successful that it was revived in 1907, attracting large audiences and establishing itself as one of the most ambitious Passion Plays presented in the American West during the.....
Berkley: University of California Press, 1992. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. A comprehensive historical analysis that delves into the enduring debate over the exact location of Sir Francis Drake's 1579 landing in California. Published by the University of California Press in 1979, the book offers a meticulous.....
Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin & Co, 1905. Illustrated by Arthur I, Keller. First Illustrated Edition. Francis Bret Harte was an American short story writer and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush.This tale takes a more.....
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1906. First Edition, First Printing. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: FOUNDATION OF MODERN BIG-GAME FISHING. Charles Frederick Holder ranks among the most influential figures in American sporting history. Best remembered as the founder of the Tuna Club of Avalon in 1898, he helped establish the.....