Sights in the gold region, and scenes by the way
Theodore Taylor Johnson of New Jersey sailed to California in February 1849 and had returned home by the end of June. Sights in the gold region (1849) is the first published book to relate authentic personal ex... more
Diary of a physician in California; being the results of actual experi...
Dr. James L. Tyson sailed from Baltimore for California in January 1849, crossing the Isthmus and sailing on to San Francisco. Diary of a physician in California (1850) recounts his 1849 tour of the Northern Mi... more
Six months in the gold mines : from a journal of three years' residenc...
Edward Gould Buffum (1820-1867), a New York journalist, came to California as an officer in the 7th Regiment of N.Y. Volunteers during the Mexican War. He stayed on to seek gold and edit a California newspaper ... more
Golden dreams and waking realities; being the adventures of a gold-see...
An Englishman, William Shaw was in South Australia when he heard of the California gold rush, and he sailed across the Pacific from Adelaide in 1849. Golden dreams and waking realities (1851) describes that voy... more
Sixteen months at the gold diggings
Daniel B. Woods of Philadelphia sailed to California in February 1849, crossing Mexico to San Blas, and arriving in San Francisco in June. Sixteen months at the gold diggings (1851) recounts those travels as we... more
Mountains and molehills; or, Recollections of a burnt journal
Frank Marryat (1826-1855) left England for California via Panama with a manservant and three hunting dogs in 1850, hoping to find material for a book like his earlier Borneo. On his return to England in 1853, M... more
California, in-doors and out; or, How we farm, mine, and live generall...
During her three years as matron of the Female Prison at Sing Sing, 1844-1848, Eliza Burhans Farnham (1815-1864) tried to institute reforms based on phrenology. Discharged from the post, she soon learned that h... more
California: its gold and its inhabitants
Sir Henry Veel Huntley (1795-1864) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. California: its gold and its inhabitants (1856) contains his experiences in California in 1852 as the San Francisco-bas... more
Incidents on land and water, or Four years on the Pacific coast. Being...
A native of Kingston, Massachusetts, Mrs. Bates sailed to California in 1850 on board the Nonantum, a coaler commanded by her husband. On reaching that state, the Bateses undertook hotelkeeping in Marysville, 1... more
Ramblings in California : containing a description of the country, lif...
Pringle Shaw was a Briton or Canadian who spent five years in California in the 1850s. Ramblings in California (1857?) falls into two parts. The first half is an analytical study of California's varied resident... more
California life illustrated
William Taylor (1821-1902) was a Methodist minister specializing in "street preaching" in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., when the Methodist church sent him to California as a missionary evangelist in 1849. He ... more
Sketches of travels in South America, Mexico and California
A native of Frederick, Maryland, Luther Melanchthon Schaeffer sailed around the Horn to California in 1849. He spent most of the next two-and-a-half years in the gold fields, mining on the Feather River, Deer C... more
Our whole country; or, The past and present of the United States, hist...
Also available in digital form from the Library of Congress Web site.
Crusoe's island
John Ross Browne (1817-1875) of Kentucky, the official reporter for the California State Constitutional Convention of 1849, came to California in 1849 as an employee of the government revenue service. He travel... more
Letters from the Pacific slope; or First impressions
Harvey Rice (1800-1891), a Cleveland lawyer and newspaper publisher, and his wife traveled by rail to California in 1869. Letters from the Pacific slope (1870) contains Rice's account of that journey, broken by... more
Six months in California
J.G. Player-Frowd was an English visitor to California in the early 1870s. Six months in California (1872) is a traveler's guide based on that visit, recounting stays in Omaha, Salt Lake City, the Sierras, Lake... more
À la California: sketch of life in the Golden state
Albert S. Evans (1831-1872) was a New Hampshire-born California journalist, serving as correspondent for the New York Tribune and Chicago Tribune. Á la California (1873) is a volume of reminiscences and anecdo... more
Men and memories of San Francisco, in the "spring of '50."
Theodore Augustus Barry (1825-1881) and Benjamin Ada Patten (1825-1877) established their credentials as California pioneers by arriving in their adopted state before January 1, 1850. Men and memories of San Fr... more
The Californians,
English writer Walter Mulrea Fisher (1849-1919) lived in California for four years in the 1870s. The Californians (1876) is his account of that stay, a gossipy social analysis of the people of California, with ... more
Letters from California: its mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, rivers...
David L. Phillips (1823-1880) took his tubercular son to California in 1876 in hope that the change of climate would aid the boy. Letters from California (1877) were originally published in the Illinois State J... more
California sketches
A Southern Methodist minister, Oscar Penn Fitzgerald (1829-1911) of North Carolina was sent to California as a missionary by his denomination in 1855. He remained for more than twenty years, winning appointment... more
California sketches. New series
A Southern Methodist minister, Oscar Penn Fitzgerald (1829-1911) of North Carolina was sent to California as a missionary by his denomination in 1855. He remained for more than twenty years, winning appointment... more
Summer saunterings,
Frank Harrison Gassaway used the pseudonym "Derrick Dodd" for his numerous writings in the San Francisco Evening Post. Summer saunterings (1882) contains travel letters originally published in the Post. They re... more
Santa Barbara and around there
Edwards Roberts was a resident of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara and around there (1886) is a useful guide to the tourist attractions of the city and nearby Santa Ynez, the Ojai Valley, and Santa Clara Valley. Ro... more
Ranch life in California. Extracted from the home correspondence of E....
The author, Evelyn M.H., was a young Englishwoman who accompanied her husband and his two brothers to California in 1885. Ranch life in California (1886) is based on her letters home, beginning with her Atlanti... more
Life and adventures of Col. L.A. Norton
Lewis Adelbert Norton (b. 1819) grew up in Canada and western New York. Banished from Canada for taking the Patriot side in the Rebellion of 1837-1838, Norton settled in Illinois, where he raised a regiment for... more
A journey to, on and from the "golden shore,"
Sue A. Pike Sanders (1842-1931) traveled by rail from Delavan, Illinois, as part of the state's delegation to the Grand Army of the Republic encampment at San Francisco in 1886. A journey to, on and from the "g... more
The Silverado squatters,
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) traveled to California in 1879 in pursuit of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, the Oakland woman with whom he had fallen in love in France. The two were married in the spring of 18... more
Letters from California
Harriet Harper of Maine paid a six-month visit to California with another young woman in 1888. Letters from California (1888) describes their travels within California via rail and coastal steamship to Los Ange... more
A California tramp and later footprints; or, Life on the plains and in...
Thaddeus S. Kenderdine made his way from Philadelphia to Michigan in 1858, staying only a month before he determined to head to California. He remained for only a year, returning to New York in 1859. A Californ... more
A winter in California
Mary H. Wills left Norristown, Pennsylvania, to spend the winter of 1888-1889 in Southern California. A winter in California (1889) describes the highlights of her stay: visits to Pasadena, Los Angeles, Santa B... more
Camping out in California
Mrs. Jacob Rideout of California was a member of an 1888 camping party in northern California. Camping out in California (1889) describes their adventures at the redwood forests, the coast near Mendocino, Sonom... more
Old Californian days
James Steele visited California in the 1880s. Old Californian days (1889) is the book Steele based on that trip. He provides a sketch of the history of California before the Gold Rush and surviving remnants of ... more
Notes of two trips to California and return, taken in 1883 and 1886-7,
Solomon Mead (1808-1897) of Greenwich, Connecticut, first visited California in 1883 as part of a Cook's railroad tour, the "Continental Excursion Party," and he returned with one of his sons in 1886 by steamsh... more
Far-West sketches,
Jessie Benton Frémont (1824-1902), the daughter of a Missouri Senator and wife of explorer John Charles Frémont, first came to California in 1849, when she and her young daughter spent six months at her husba... more
Roughing it
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known as "Mark Twain," left Missouri in 1861 to work with his brother, the newly appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. Once settled in Nevada, Clemens fell vi... more
Our Italy,
Famed essayist and journalist Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900) was the editor of the Hartford, Connecticut, Courant and a contributing editor to Harper's Magazine. Our Italy (1891) is Warner's account of a tri... more
A truthful woman in southern California;
New England humorist Kate Sanborn (1839-1917) wrote widely and taught at Smith College. A truthful woman in southern California (1893) offers sage and amusing advice to tourists planning a rail trip to Southern... more
Wonderland; or, Twelve weeks in and out of the United States. Brief ac...
Edward S. Parkinson was a New Jersey newspaperman who traveled to California and Alaska in 1892. Wonderland, or Twelve weeks in and out of the United States (1894) is his account of that three-month adventure: ... more
The adventures of a forty-niner : An historic description of Californi...
An Albany, New York, physician, Daniel Knower (b. ca. 1818) sailed for California in 1849 with twelve prefabricated frame houses for the San Francisco market. The adventures of a forty-niner (1894) describes Kn... more
The mountains of California
Famed naturalist John Muir (1838-1914) came to Wisconsin as a boy and studied at the University of Wisconsin. He first came to California in 1868 and devoted six years to the study of the Yosemite Valley. After... more
Death Valley in '49. Important chapter of California pioneer history. ...
William Lewis Manly (1820-1903) and his family left Vermont in 1828, and he grew to manhood in Michigan and Wisconsin. On hearing the news of gold in California, Manly set off on horseback, joining an emigrant ... more
![[At the beach and other seaside scenes] /](https://cdn4.picryl.com/photo/1896/01/01/at-the-beach-and-other-seaside-scenes-small.gif "[At the beach and other seaside scenes] /")
![[Scenes from Mexico and the 1900 Paris Exposition] /](https://cdn4.picryl.com/photo/1896/01/01/scenes-from-mexico-and-the-1900-paris-exposition-small.gif "[Scenes from Mexico and the 1900 Paris Exposition] /")
Letters of travel in California, in the winter and spring of 1896,
Loraine Pratt Immen (b. 1840) of Grand Rapids, Iowa, visited California in the winter and spring of 1896. Letters of travel (1896?) first appeared in a local newspaper. Mrs. Immen reported visits to Echo Mounta... more
Lourdes, transport de malades, I /
Patients are conveyed in carriages toward the shrine in Lourdes.
Lourdes, procession, I /
People carry candles in a procession in Lourdes.
Lourdes, procession, III /
People carry candles in a procession in Lourdes.
Journal of a tour in the United States, Canada and Mexico /
Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.
Bataille de fleurs et défilé de chars, III /
Presents views of a parade in Montreux, including carts and donkeys covered with flowers, horsedrawn floats, bicycles, and people in native dress.
Lourdes, procession, II /
People carry candles in a procession in Lourdes.
Lourdes, sortie de l'église du Rosaire /
People come out the doors and down the steps of the Church of the Rosary in Lourdes.
Bataille de fleurs et défilé de chars, I /
Presents views of a parade in Montreux, including carts and donkeys covered with flowers, horsedrawn floats, bicycles, and people in native dress.
Happy days in southern California,
Frederick Hastings Rindge (1857-1905) moved from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles in 1882 and bought the famed rancho at Malibu, which he dubbed "Laudamus Farm." Happy days in southern California (1898)... more
Admiral Dewey landing at Gibraltar /
War hero Adm. George Dewey, famous for his victory at Manila Bay early in the war, was filmed during his trip back to the United States at Gibraltar in early September 1899.
Dr. William Gorgas /
Film has ca. 2 ft. of views of Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, chief sanitation officer of the Panama Canal (1904-1913) and member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, standing in front of a building; location of thi... more
Fête des fleurs, I /
Presents views of a parade in Saigon with flower-covered carriages and floats.
Arrival of the Governor General, Lord Minto, at Quebec /
From Edison films catalog: This picture shows the Governor General, the Earl of Minto, accompanied by the Countess of Minto and their household, crossing the river in ice canoes. On the Quebec side the canoes f... more
Duke of York at Montreal and Quebec /
From K. Niver: This film shows the citation, presentation, and dedication of a bridge by the Duke of York, later King of England and grandfather of Queen Elizabeth. Many high-ranking military officials of both ... more
Glimpses of California and the missions,
Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885) of Amherst, Massachusetts, turned to writing after the death of her first husband in 1863. Her marriage to William Jackson, a wealthy Denver Quaker, brought her to the West in 187... more
A romance of the rail /
From Edison films catalog: A series of railroad scenes of novel and amusing interest. It opens with a view of an imposing station showing a pretty girl, dressed in white, seated on a trunk awaiting the arrival ... more
The Forbidden City, Pekin
Views of the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace), Peking, China: camera, probably located atop the Meridian Gate (Wu Men) pans from the east, past the Gate of Great Harmony (T'ai Ho Men) with the Hall of Supreme H... more
From East Prussia to the Golden Gate,
Frank Lecouvreur (1829-1901) was born Franz Lecouvreur in Ortlesburg, Prussia. Educated as an engineer, he left home for California in 1851. From East Prussia to the Golden Gate (1906) draws on Lecouvreur's let... more
Life in the open; sport with rod, gun, horse, and hound in southern Ca...
Charles Frederick Holder (1851-1915), a founder of Pasadena's Tournament of Roses, came from a wealthy Massachusetts Quaker family. After working as a curator at New York's American Museum of Natural History, H... more
Recollections of a '49er. A quaint and thrilling narrative of a trip a...
Edward Washington McIlhany (b. 1828) left West Virginia for the California gold fields in 1849. Recollections of a 49er (1908) describes his overland journey west, gold prospecting on Feather River and Grass Va... more
A tenderfoot in southern California,
Mina Deane Halsey (b. 1873) was a New York writer. A tenderfoot in southern California (1909) is her spoof of accounts of California travel and recounts a "tenderfoot's" rail journey west, stays in Los Angeles ... more
![TR in Norway and Denmark, 1910 [1] /](https://cdn4.picryl.com/photo/1910/01/01/tr-in-norway-and-denmark-1910-1-small.gif "TR in Norway and Denmark, 1910 [1] /")
TR in Norway and Denmark, 1910 [1] /
While returning from Africa in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt visited many European countries, including Denmark, May 2-3, and Norway, May 4-6. Roosevelt, King Haakon, Edith Roosevelt, Queen Maud, Ethel Roosevelt, Ke... more
The lure of the past, the present and future,
George W. Bryan (b. ca. 1844) of Indiana was living in Los Angeles when he wrote this book. The lure of the past (1911) begins with the story of his kinfolk William E. Bryan and his wife Mary, who left Carthage... more
On the coast of the Bay of Biscay, France /
A travelog of the frontier dividing France and Spain, with views of the Hendaye Coast, France; the village of Fontarabia, Spain; Saint Marie Gate at Fontarabia; a shopping center; homes of fishermen; the fronti... more
![TR [in Louisiana], 1915 [4] /](https://cdn4.picryl.com/photo/1915/01/01/tr-in-louisiana-1915-4-small.gif "TR [in Louisiana], 1915 [4] /")
TR [in Louisiana], 1915 [4] /
Views of TR walking on beach; holding his hat, TR stands near bushes on an island and follows the flight of birds. Film photographed by Herbert K. Job of the National Audubon Society, on an expedition with TR t... more
The Shirley letters from California mines in 1851-52; being a series o...
Educated in Amherst, Massachusetts, Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (1819-1906) accompanied her physician-husband to California in 1849. The couple first lived in mining camps where Dr. Clappe practiced medici... more