University of the Pacific Scholarly Commons John Muir Newsletters John Muir Papers Spring 4-1-2012 The ohnJ Muir Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2012 The ohnJ Muir Center Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmn Part of the American Studies Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation The oJ hn Muir Center, "The oJ hn Muir Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2012" (2012). John Muir Newsletters. 94. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmn/94 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the John Muir Papers at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in John Muir Newsletters by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SPRING/SUMMER 2012 THE J 0 H N M U I R CENTER FOCUSING ON PHOTOGRAPHY: AN SPECIAL ANALYSIS OF JOHN MUIR'S POINTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION INTEREST: By Amanda Zimmerman Going for sittings at the photogra­ • Muir built a collection of over three thousand pher's studio was very popular at Outstanding Senior in Visual Arts-studio Art images obtained from the time and numerous friends and several noted photogra­ Class of 2012 University of The Pacific family would send portraits and re­ phers. quest photographs of Muir. • Although the collection The John Muir Papers at the Stereographs or stereo cards, includes roughly 3200 Holt-Atherton Special Collections at popular from approximately 1849 to images, evidence sup­ ports that John Muir the University of the Pacific Library 1925 were "both educational and was not a contributor to includes a large photograph collec­ entertaining."! Stereo cards were his own collection. tion that reveals patterns in Muir's comprised of two almost identical • California and Alaska interests. While photographs of ge­ images placed side by side on a are the dominant sub­ ography, trees, and botanical im­ piece of card stock creating a three­ jects in the collection. ages dominate the collection, images dimensional image when set in a Roughly 575 images, of native peoples and wildlife were stereo viewer or stereoscope. the vast majority of California views, are of constantly interwoven. In the course Finally, the wet-plate or glass­ Yosemite's vistas. of his lifetime, Muir built a collec­ plate photographic process was de­ tion to over three thousand images veloped to help make large, highly obtained from several noted photog­ detailed prints. The wet-plate proc­ raphers. ess enabled photographers of the INSIDE THIS I S S U E: In a collection as large as Muir's, West to take their cameras out on Focusing on there are many differing photo­ location to conduct photographic Photography: An graphic processes and trends in­ surveys of the landscape. To accom­ 1 Analysis of John Muir's cluding tintypes, cabinet cards, modate the vast landscapes, many Photography Collection stereographs, and glass plate prints. of the photographers would use "Women as History- Tintypes or ferrotypes, printed on a large cameras that held glass-plate Makers in California" 2 sheet of thin black iron that could negatives up to 20" x 24". This proc­ Symposium be tinted or colored, were a very in­ ess was revolutionary in the history expensive and a less fragile way for of photography, because of its Cruising in Muir's 3 people to send portraits of them­ enlargement capabilities while also Footsteps selves to others. maintaining the sharpness of the Many of the portraiture photo­ images. Book Review: The 9 Making of Yosemite graphs in the Muir Papers are cabi­ Although the collection is made net cards, which was in common up of roughly 3,200 images from John Muir Botanical use during his adult life. Cabinet numerous photographers, evidence Area under construction 10 cards consist of images printed then supports that John Muir was not a at University of the mounted on card stock and were contributor to his own collection. In Pacific nearly four times the size of stan­ a letter written to C. H. Merriam in dard photographs on card stock. 1901, Muir writes, "I never took a (continued on page 4) PAGE 2 "WOMEN AS HISTORY·MAKERS IN CALIFORNIA" SYMPOSIUM The 59th California symposium with note on the theme of nected these with mod­ History Institute was "Placing Women in Chinese women in the ern sororities on the held this past March California History," state's history giving Stockton campus. Mi­ at University of the emphasizing how examples from the era chelle Khoury from Pacific. This year's women have remained of the Gold Rush to the Santa Clara University theme was "Women as in the background in twentieth century of informed all of the strug­ History-Makers in most texts on the Chinese women who gle of Native American California." The event state's history, despite broke the stereotype of women after the Gold was planned and co­ their achievements as those who came to Rush as they faced dis­ organized by Edith shapers of social, eco­ "Gold Mountain." crimination, stereotyp­ Sparks (Senior Associ­ nomic, political and These include Au Toy, ing, and graphic ridicule ate Dean of the Col­ legal themes unique to one of San Francisco's for traditional lifestyles lege), Jennifer Hel­ California. Alice Van most successful busi­ and attempts to survive gren, Assistant Profes­ Ommeren, a local ness women who in the hostile environ­ sor of History, Corrie Stockton historian, owned houses of pros­ ment of Anglo-California. Martin, Director of the provided case studies titution and gambling, "Women and Environ­ Women's Resource of leaders among Ana May Wong, the mental Justice" was the Center, and W. Swa­ women during Stock­ most famous Chinese­ theme of the final panel, gerty, Director of the ton's "Golden Age," American actress in which included an over­ John Muir Center. 1890-1940. Her case the state's history; Jay view by Professor Nancy On Friday, March 23, studies ranged from Snow Wong, the cele­ C. Unger of Santa Clara twenty students and Lottie Gunsky, a career brated Bay-area ce­ University on women as faculty motored to teacher (1853-1922), to ramicist; March Fong "Nature's Housekeepers," Sacramento to tour Lilla Miller Lomax Eu, first Asian­ and case studies by the California Mu­ (1859-1941), Stock­ American Secretary of Tracy Perkins, U.C. seum. Exhibits on ton's first female medi­ State; and Betty Suan Santa Cruz and Teresa "California's Remark­ cal doctor, to Laura Chen, who received the DeAnda, Director of the able Women," "Women DeForce Gordon ( 1838- Presidential Citizen Committee for Well Being and the Vote," and 1907), suffragette and Medal in 20 10 for her of Earlimart on citizen permanent exhibits attorney who was the social work among the action in policy and pes­ including California's first woman in the U.S. homeless. ticide reform Hall of Fame provided to own a newspaper, to Student papers by (respectively). individual biographi­ Edna Gleason ( 1914- Pacific's own Christi­ Jennifer Helgren cal introductions to 1961), the first woman ana Oatman and closed the symposium around 120 women in to serve on the Stock­ Devon Clayton focused with remarks on "what the state's history. A ton City Council and on women and campus we have learned," tying moment at the President of the Cali­ life and organizations. the exhibits in Sacra­ "Constitutional Wall" fornia Pharmaceutical Clayton traced the his­ mento at the California also reminded all of Association. tory of women's literary Museum with the papers the importance of Dawn Bohulano societies going back to and presentations given California's begin­ Mabalon of San Fran­ the San Jose campus on campus. nings and its contin­ cisco State University (1871-1924) and con- ued promise to native connected her own born and immigrants family's history with alike. Stockton's large Fili­ Historians, stu­ pino community, not­ dents, environmental ing that within the city, activists, and commu­ "Little Manila" once nity organizers came housed the largest together in Grace community of Filipinos Covell Hall on Satur­ outside of Manila itself. day, March 24, to After an Asian­ hear presentations. theme luncheon, Pro­ Edie Sparks and co­ fessor Emerita of author Jessica Weiss American Studies, of California State, Judy Yung (U.C. Santa East Bay, opened the Cruz) provided the key- PAGE 3 ARCHIVIST'S CORNER Cruising in Muir's Footsteps exactly where he stood when he made the photo! By Michael Wurtz This "sense of place" in history has been Holt-Atherton Special Collections captivating to me ever since. In 2010, I trav­ University of the Pacific Library eled to Alaska for the first time, and I wanted to find John Muir's "footprints." Muir's trips focused on Southeast Alaska, and I was go­ ing mostly into the interior. Fortunately, Muir and I did cross paths - albeit 111 years apart - in Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. Muir was with the Harriman expedition in 1899, and I was on the Wurtz-Cosper trip of 2010. Dan Cosper's father was stationed at Whittier in the 1950s, and there are many glacier cruises that embark from there. I gathered information on the cruise routes and compared them to Muir's drawings and journals and notebooks. I harvested scans of the journals from the John Muir Papers web­ site (go. pacific. eduj specialcollections), tran­ scribed the text I could read, printed them out, and stuck them in Ziploc bags. Our ini­ tial trip to the Port Wells glaciers was to in­ clude a half-dozen more glaciers on the Col­ lege Fjord, but our mighty boat the Klondike Express broke down, leaving us narrating stories and songs of that fateful cruise.