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Manuscripts

Fort Sutter collection

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Description
The Fort Sutter collection contains approximately 161 original letters, documents, illustrations and maps, in English and Spanish, mounted in 39 slim, bound volumes covering the years 1845 to 1862. An additional, unnumbered volume entitled "Introductory Volume," contains a printed introduction to the collection, a preface by Edward Eberstadt, as well as an item-level inventory of the letters and documents housed in the collection. Subjects covered in the collection include: Edward M. Kern and his activities at Fort Sutter, chiefly between 1846 and 1847; the Bear Flag Revolt and subsequent military actions; Native American insurrections; the establishment of mail service in California; relief of the Donner Party; and Kern's attachment to the 3rd and 4th Frémont Exploring Expeditions. One of the volumes contains engravings of drawings by Edward Kern and his brother, Richard Kern, made during the Simpson and Sitgreaves Expeditions in the region of the Zuni, Little Colorado, Colorado, and Gila Rivers from 1849 to 1853.
Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date
1845-1862.
Call number
mssSutter
Provenance
Purchased from Anderson Galleries, November 1921. These volumes were bound, with a printed introduction by Seymour Dunbar, under whose direction they were arranged, by the DeVinne Press. Some of the papers were supposed to have been in the possession of Walter R. Benjamin and sold by him at various times to Charles A. Gunther of Chicago, according to a notice in the "Collector" for January 1922.
Restrictions
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Find out more
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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