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Past Tents: The Way We Camped

Description

The Past Tents: The Way We Camped exhibition explores camping in California from post-Gold Rush to the mid-1900s. Early camping was an enterprise of independence, simplicity, and conviviality. It offered a change of pace, splendor of scenery, and an opportunity to be close to nature and escape the trappings of society for a time. Despite the toil and the lack of modern gear, gadgets and groceries, campers eagerly packed their duffel bags with cameras and diaries and took to the hills.

“Swim in the Cold Soda Spring, Wee Wa (little Warren) takes a dive,” Clear Lake, California, June 1924; Charles Fremont Pond: Elizabeth Keith Pond Mountain Journals, Keith-McHenry-Pond Family Papers, The Bancroft Library
“Mrs. Perrelet. The fliver. Miss Muth.” Death Valley Automobile Trip, 1926, The Bancroft Library
Camper in Nightshirt, From Marin County Album. Photography Collection California Historical Society

Past Tents is divided into three themes: Round the Campground, Hitting the Trail, and Open Roads, Open Fires. Through photographs, journal entries, and advertisements, Past Tents examines auto camping, camp food, gear, and pastimes, and tips for successful camp trips.

The Past Tents: The Way We Camped exhibition was produced by The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley and California Historical Society and based on the book written by Susan Snyder and co-published by Heyday Books and The Bancroft Library.

Specs

Audience:
General
Rental Fee:
RETIRED
Size:
1500 – 2000 square feet
Security:
Limited

Exhibit Components:

  • Over 50 reprinted photographs from the collections of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley and the California Historical Society
  • Two canvas tents
  • Hands-on stereo viewer with stereograph facsimiles, and photo album
  • Text panels and labels
  • Guide By Cell audio tour
  • Exhibition press kit with digital images

Schedule and Availability

September 21, 2008 – November 16, 2008
Hi-Desert Nature Museum, Yucca Valley
November 30, 2008 – February 23, 2009
Eastern California Museum, Independence
April 12, 2009 – June 7, 2009
Old Courthouse Museum, Santa Ana
June 21, 2009 – August 16, 2009
Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, Bonita
August 30, 2009 – January 3, 2010
Sacramento History Museum, Sacramento
January 17, 2010 – March 14, 2010
Community Memorial Museum, Yuba City
June 6, 2010 – August 1, 2010
Museum of History & Art, Ontario
August 15, 2010 – December 19, 2010
Mendocino County Museum, Willits
March 13, 2011 – May 8, 2011
Merced County Courthouse Museum, Merced
May 22, 2011 – August 27, 2011
Hayward Area Historical Museum, Hayward
September 10, 2011 – January 1, 2012
Gateway Science Museum, Chico