http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/hb8g5011x4 No online items Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower Papers Finding aid written by Tanya Hollis; additions by Alison E. Bridger. Funding for processing this collection was provided by Brian and Jennifer Maxwell. The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower BANC MSS 79/9 c 1 Papers Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower Papers Collection number: BANC MSS 79/9 c The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Funding for processing this collection was provided by Brian and Jennifer Maxwell Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: Finding Aid written by Tanya Hollis Date Completed: March 2006; additions 2007 Encoded by: James Lake © 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: David Ross Brower Papers, Date (inclusive): 1924-2001 Collection Number: BANC MSS 79/9 c Creator: Brower, David Ross, 1912-2000 Extent: Number of containers: 30 boxes, 125 cartons, 4 oversize boxes, 20 oversize foldersLinear feet: circa 173 linear feet Repository: The Bancroft Library. Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Abstract: The David Ross Brower Papers consist of records accumulated in the course of Brower's lifelong work as a conservationist. Included are Brower's correspondence, writings, testimonies and speeches on virtually every topic associated with the environmental movement in the twentieth century, including energy resources and conservation, logging, nuclear power and nuclear war, population control, wilderness preservation, and wildlife conservation. Constituting the bulk of the collection are records from the conservation organizations he participated in or helped found. Papers pertaining to his association with the Sierra Club include correspondence and writings dating from his early membership in 1933; editorial files from his work as editor of the Sierra Club Bulletin; files created during his final years as the club's Executive Director; and files created from his work as a board member after his resignation from the directorship through the final Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower BANC MSS 79/9 c 2 Papers years of his life. The records of Friends of the Earth (FOE), which Brower founded in 1969 after leaving the Sierra Club, document conservation campaigns, issues, FOE's extensive publishing program, and affiliated organizations, including the John Muir Institute and Friends of the Earth Foundation, and the Conference on the Fate of the Earth. Also included are records regarding the founding and projects of Earth Island Institute, including Brower's campaign for Global Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration (CPR). Throughout all of the records from conservation organizations is documentation of Brower's work to produce books in the Exhibit Format style he pioneered at the Sierra Club, combining beautiful photography and powerful writing to bring major conservation issues to the public, and his ongoing use of advertising in national papers to bring attention to major causes. Other materials of significance include: diaries and correspondence pertaining to Brower's early mountaineering, including the development of new techniques and equipment; papers from his service in the 10th Mountain Division in World War II; and files from the many organizations to which Brower belonged. Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English. Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog. Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], David Ross Brower Papers, BANC MSS 79/9 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Additional Notes on Collection Box 1, Family Correspondence, has been returned to the Brower family. Related Collections Title: Sierra Club Records, Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/103 c Title: Sierra Club Office of the Executive Director Records, Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 2002/230 c Title: Sierra Club Members Papers, Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/295 c Title: Friends of the Earth Records, Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 82/98 c and Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 86/104 c Oral History: Title: David R. Brower -- environmental activist, publicist and prophet: an interview, conducted by Susan Schrepfer, 1974-1978. Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1980. Separated Material Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library. Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library. Film/Videotapes and sound recordings have been transferred to the Microforms Collection of The Bancroft Library. Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower BANC MSS 79/9 c 3 Papers Brower, David Ross, 1912-2000 --Archives Sierra Club Friends of the Earth Earth Island Institute Friends of the Earth--Publishing John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies League of Conservation Voters United States. Army. Infantry Division, 86th. Mountain Division, 10th Conference on the Fate of the Earth Nature Conservation--History National parks and reserves--California--Yosemite National Park Conservationists--California Environmentalists--California Mountaineering--California Mountaineering--California--Yosemite National Park Power resources--Environmental aspects Logging--Environmental aspects--California Nuclear energy--Environmental aspects Nuclear disarmament Wildlife conservation Population--Environmental aspects Yosemite National Park (Calif.) Diaries Addresses Manuscripts for publication Acquisition Information The David Ross Brower Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by David Ross Brower on December 14, 1998. Additions were made on January 25, 1999, March 8, 2001, April 3, 2001 and March 5, 2007. Processing Information Processed by Tanya Hollis, Elizabeth Stephens, and Jessica Lemieux; additions of 2007 by Alison E. Bridger. Biographical Information David Ross Brower was born in Berkeley, California on July 1, 1912, the son of Ross J and Mary Brower. He had three siblings, Edith, Ralph and Joseph. In his early years, Brower spent much of his time in the woods surrounding Berkeley, both alone and as a guide for his mother, leading her on walks and describing the outdoor world after she lost her sight to a brain tumor. His father taught drafting at the University of California at Berkeley until 1920, when he lost his position and the family lived off the income from rental apartments he owned. For recreation, he often took his family hiking and camping in the nearby mountains of the High Sierra. A butterfly collector in boyhood, David Brower studied entomology at University of California, Berkeley, but dropped out in 1931 after two years to earn a living. For four years he did clerical work for a candy company in San Francisco, among other odd jobs, while spending all his spare time climbing in the mountains. Brower joined the Sierra Club in September 1933 sponsored by Richard Leonard, and was added to the Sierra Club Bulletin's Editorial Board in 1935. He began participating in High Trips, and soon became a leader. He then worked for three years (1935-1938) as an accountant and publicist for the Yosemite Park and Curry Company. During this period in Yosemite, Brower continued to spend much of his time climbing, and quickly became an experienced climber. He also befriended many of the climbers that would influence his later years including Hervey Voge, Bestor Robinson, George Rockwood, Francis Farquhar, and Dick and Doris Leonard. He participated in a historic attempt on Mount Waddington (Canada) in 1935, and the first ascent of New Mexico's Shiprock in 1939. He was also a member of the San Francisco Bay Chapter, and was the first editor of the Yodeler from 1938-1940. In 1941, he became a member of the Sierra Club board of directors. Finding Aid to the David Ross Brower BANC MSS 79/9 c 4 Papers That same year, Brower was hired as an editor at the University of California Press, where his officemate was fellow editor Anne Hus. They became friends, but she was still involved with a prior suitor