As a historian and archivist, I do my research in the usual places: libraries, archives, photo collections. But when I was the company Historian for Levi Strauss & Co. (1989-2014) "research” took on a whole new meaning. In July of 2003 I left the air-conditioned comfort of the corporate Archives in San Francisco for the … Continue reading Homer Campbell, the Levi’s Celebration Jean, and a Desert Adventure
Author: Lynn Downey
Happy Birthday Levi Strauss!
Levi Strauss turns 197 years old today, so I wanted to share a couple of my favorite stories to celebrate his big day. In the early 1880s a man named Antonio Gagliardo owned a store in Douglas Flat, in California's gold country, which carried Levi Strauss & Co. dry goods and clothing. It was sometimes … Continue reading Happy Birthday Levi Strauss!
“The best poet and wit in college.”
Fred W. Loring, Boston-born writer, 1870 graduate of Harvard, and enthusiastic member of Lt. George Wheeler's 1871 western expedition, died on this day in 1871, victim of a stagecoach attack in Arizona commonly called the "Wickenburg Massacre." I prefer to think about how much life he crammed into his twenty-one years, rather than his death. … Continue reading “The best poet and wit in college.”
Fred Loring: Not a Fan of Frankenstein
I'm still researching the life of Fred Loring -- the forgotten Boston writer who died in the so-called "Wickenburg Massacre" in 1871 -- and I keep stumbling over more of his stories and other works. A few weeks ago I discovered some book reviews he wrote for The Harvard Advocate, the newspaper he edited when … Continue reading Fred Loring: Not a Fan of Frankenstein
Let’s Go to Tucson!
I'm heading to the Tucson Festival of Books this month, so I thought it would be fun to tell some of Tucson's dude ranch tales. People flocked to the area in the early twentieth century because the dry climate was thought to be good for respiratory trouble; more specifically, tuberculosis. The city of Tucson did … Continue reading Let’s Go to Tucson!
Happy Birthday, Fred
On this day in 1849 -- 175 years ago -- Frederick Wadsworth Loring was born in Newton, a suburb of Boston. He was a poet, playwright, novelist, and journalist and died just weeks before his 22nd birthday. Those of you who know me remember that I have been researching (obsessed with) Fred ever since I … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Fred
A Gift from Ed
Many years ago, when I was the company Historian for Levi Strauss & Co., I used to go to paper and ephemera shows all over the Bay Area. I always found photos, postcards, ads, or other great swag from Levi's early years. And it was at one of these shows that I met the king … Continue reading A Gift from Ed
The Silent Star in the Library
In 2019, the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming awarded me a Resident Fellowship to study their (amazing) dude ranch archives for my book, American Dude Ranch: A Touch of the Cowboy and the Thrill of the West. I flew to Cody in August and spent a … Continue reading The Silent Star in the Library
Rose
I'm reaching back into my Arequipa Sanatorium book again for the last Women's History Month post, to bring you the story of a former patient that I had the great fortune to meet. In the early spring of 2018 I was working on the manuscript for my book when I got an email from a … Continue reading Rose
From Sanatorium to Studio
I wrote the book Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California's Lung Resort for Women to tell the story of Dr. Philip King Brown, the pioneering San Francisco physician who founded the women's tuberculosis sanatorium called Arequipa (and where my grandmother was treated and saved from death). Along the way, I also learned about the innovative occupational … Continue reading From Sanatorium to Studio
Tumblereads: A New Twist on the Old West 