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Title
The Midnight Visitor
Creator
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889, artist
Date Created and/or Issued
1850-04-01
Contributing Institution
Huntington Library
Collection
Manuscripts
Rights Information
For information on use of Digital Library materials, please see Library Rights and Permissions: https://www.huntington.org/library-rights-permissions
Description
View of an emigrant's encounter with a bear outside his tent. Carvings on trees read: "W. Goldugh" and "W. Poile & J.G. Bruff 1850"
Joseph Goldsborough Bruff is best known as a topographer, journalist, and artist of the gold rush era. Bruff was born in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1804. He attended West Point from 1820 until his resignation in 1822. From 1827-1836 he worked as a topographical engineer, predominantly at Gosport Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1837 and from 1838-1849 worked for the U.S. Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Bruff then organized the Washington City and California Mining Association, which he accompanied to California. While in California he produced extensive journals and drawings of the mining camp experience. In 1853 Bruff returned to Washington, D.C., where he worked in office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department until his death on April 14, 1889.
Type
image
Format
image/tiff
Extent
25.5 x 33 cm.; chalk pastel
Identifier
mssHM 8044 (148)
43726
http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15150coll7/id/5127
Language
English
Subject
California--Pictorial works
Bears in art
Frontier and pioneer life--California
Pastels (visual works)--United States--19th century. (aat)
Source
Journal and drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff, 1849-1853
Manuscripts, Huntington Digital Library
Relation
Journal and drawings of J. Goldsborough Bruff, 1849-1853
Provenance
Purchased from A.S.W. Rosenbach, 1919.

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