Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

John Muir letters available for viewing on Internet

A trove of some 6,500 letters to and from renowned California conservationist John Muir is now available on the Internet.

The University of the Pacific, where the letters are housed, announced the new online access Wednesday in cooperation with UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library. The project was funded with a $111,181 grant from the California State Library.

The archive of correspondence includes full-text transcriptions that can be viewed alongside images of the original Muir letters.

Many letters involve discussions between Muir – considered a founder of the American environmental and parks movement – and other leading figures of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The archive joins other Muir material held by UOP, previously made available online, including drawings, journals and photographs.

– Matt Weiser