Published Occasionally by the Friends of the Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley, California 9472O

BANCROFTIANA PUBLISHED OCCASIONALLY BY THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 9472O No. 104 June 1992 Samuel H. and Eveline Auerbach (center) with their children. Photo by van Bosch, Weisbaden, ca. 1900. New Manuscript manuscripts, maps, and pictures of the Old West he had amassed over the years. The cat Acquisitions from the alog of that 1947-1948 sale, annotated by Dale L. Morgan, reveals The Bancroft Library's in Auerbach Collection terest. One of the treasures acquired was a vari Son and nephew of the founders of the Auer ant copy of Book of Mormon, printed by E. B. bach Company, one of the great mercantile Grandin, Palmyra, New York, for Joseph companies of Salt Lake City and the far West, Smith, Jr., in 1830. and grandson of Jewish immigrants who Seventy manuscript lots were included in crossed the Plains in 1853, Herbert S. Auerbach this early sale and two sales in the 1960s offered was fascinated by pioneer lore and the history five additional manuscript lots. Now, in 1992, of the American west. After his death in 1945, the remaining manuscript materials held back the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York of by the family all these years have come on the fered for sale the great collection of books, market. [1] Bancroft Library staff avidly read through fornia, where they tried various dry goods the world, including New York, Havana, Program at The Bancroft Library has recently the advance copy of the catalog listing 282 businesses in San Francisco and several smaller Gibraltar, Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, and San received an important collection of papers of Auerbach lots of manuscripts, photographs, gold rush towns, including Timbuctoo where Francisco. Written between 4 July 1839 and 18 laser pioneer, Nobel laureate, and University songsheets, theater programs, broadsides, Eveline was born in 1859. During her early life, December 1861 (as he was leaving for the voy Professor Charles H. Townes. A native of mining reports, rare printed items, and other the family's business ventures took them to age to China on which he died), the letters to South Carolina, Townes earned baccalaureate materials relating to California, Utah, New Portland, Boise, New York City, and finally, in his wife are concentrated during the years degrees in both modern languages and physics Mexico, and other western states; the Mor 1864,to Salt Lake City. Throughout her nar shortly before their marriage and until she and at the age of 19, then concentarted his efforts mons; Native Americans; railroads; and other rative, Eveline is most concerned with how her their children joined him in California in 1852. on the "beautifully logical structure" of western topics. Attention focused particularly family carved out a living on the frontier and Of particular note are the series of fifteen let physics. He took an MA in the subject at Duke on manuscripts directly related to the Auer how they developed friendships with members ters written on his 1849 voyage to California. University in 1936 and followed with a PIID at bach family; those concerning La Porte, Cali of all the religious communities of Salt Lake Starting in Philadelphia in April and ending California Institute of Technology on the eve fornia, the Sierra mining town where the City. Her memoir includes background on with his first letter from San Francisco in De ofWorldWarn. Auerbachs established their first store; and historical events and the Mormon Church, cember, the letters are a chronicle of life sailing Wartime found Townes, together with other California items. By acting quickly, Ban with specific anecdotes highlighting political, around the Horn. Particularly during the first many other American physicists, occupied croft was able to secure all of its choices. social, and economic interaction between half of the voyage, his letters home are almost with the development of microwave radar. As Again, there were treasures. For the Auer Mormons and gentiles (i.e. all non-Mormons, a dailyjournal. In San Francisco, Sam Brannan a member of the technical staff of the Bell Lab bach family, there were the unpublished auto including Jews). It recounts, with an eye for bought his brother a ship for $14,000. For a oratories from 1939 to 1947, Townes designed graph memoirs of both Samuel H. Auerbach detail, specific events such as the visit of the while John worked the coast, then, finding radar bombing systems and subsequently ap and his wife Eveline Brooks Auerbach. P. T. Barnum circus in 1870 and Brigham business less profitable than anticipated, he re plied the microwave technology derived from Samuel Auerbachs memoir of his life in the Young's funeral in 1877; meetings with the fa turned to the east. But in 1852 he was back in radar research to questions of spectroscopy. He West, especially in La Porte, California, and mous; humorous stories; and the incidents and San Francisco, this time working in his broth continued to investigate microwave physics af Salt Lake City, Utah, revolves around the fam environment of everyday family life. It is a er's office, writing back instructions to his fam ter his appointment to the physics faculty at ily mercantile business. Samuel Auerbach was thoroughly interesting, entertaining, and in ily on how to make the trip west. Columbia University in 1948, and also retained born in Germany in 1847. He emigrated to the formative memoir, valuable particularly for its With these are thirty letters to Mary from ties to Bell Labs as a consultant. United States in 1862 to join his older brothers, woman's perspective on the Jewish community other family members, including four letters of It was with colleagues at Columbia that Frederick and Theodore, in their dry goods of Salt Lake City. condolence on news of John's death in 1862, Townes built the first maser. In 1958 he and his business in La Porte. After spending four years Eveline and Samuel Auerbach's memoirs family photographs, and ephemeral material brother-in-law Arthur L. Schawlow laid the there, Samuel joined his brothers once more, exist both as autograph manuscripts and in relating to the Brannan family. theoretical foundation for the laser; the first this time in Salt Lake City where they had multiple drafts, some showing the editing Acquisition of these fine manuscript groups operating system of the laser type was accom opened another store. There he would spend hand of Herbert as he contemplated their pub was made possible through the Peter and plished in i960 by T. H. Maiman. The studies the next forty years helping his brother Fred lication. Accompanying them are an array of Rosell Harvey Memorial Fund. of the Laser History Project have recently ex erick transform a small tent and storefront photographs of both sides of the family. There Bonn ie Hardw ick amined the complicated history of masers and business into one of the most prosperous firms are also family letters, notably a group of early lasers and the contributions of Townes, in Salt Lake City. Samuel's narrative describes letters from Samuel to his teenage son, Her Schawlow, and many other scientific and tech his life from the time of his birth until shortly bert. Lasers All Around nical personnel at various universities and pub after he purchased control of the Auerbach Among the La Porte manuscripts collected In the thirty years since the development of the lic and private research laboratories. Company from the heirs of Frederick in 1904. by Herbert S. Auerbach and acquired from laser, its applications have come to surround While on leave from Columbia (and on the The memoir is rich in the detail of business this sale are several of particular interest. There us. Bar codes on nearly every product we buy, eve of practical development of the laser), practices on the frontier and chronicles the are reminiscences by early residents of Rabbit as well as on more and more of the books in the Townes' interest in military applications of sci problems of obtaining goods, pricing, barter Creek, as it was first called, as well as Herbert campus library system, take advantage of the ence and technology and in Department of ing, securing credit, and dealing with the en S. Auerbach's notes based on his interviews high-speed controllability of a laser beam. Defense funding for scientific research and de trenched power of local religion. This first with pioneers still living in the 1920s. The min Communications in a variety of forms, from velopment took him to Washington DC, where hand account is important not only for the pi ing history of the area is represented in mining fiber-optic telephone systems to laser printer he assumed the post of Vice President and Di oneer life it records, but also for its account of reports, an 1872 bill of sale for tools and a min output of personal computers, exploit the high rector of Research for the Institute for Defense the Salt Lake City Jewish community in the ing claim, and a handwritten contract selling, frequencies and programmable control of the Analysis. Townes would later serve on the nineteenth century and of frontier business for $1000, the right to work mine tailings for beam. Video disks apply the technology to in influential President's Scientific Advisory practices and development. two months in 1869 to a Chinese miner, Hop formation storage and entertainment; self- Committee, and would chair the Science and Eveline Auerbach's narrative is much more Seng, of La Porte. cauterizing surgery reconnects detached reti Technology Advisory Committee for the personal, recounting her family life, up A final surprise appeared in a group of Bran nas.

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