A brief history of ‘literary industries’

Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918) founded The Bancroft Library at U.C. Berkeley, based on his vast collection of books, newspapers, maps, and interviews associated with the history of the Pacific West. 

The bibliophile assembled a vast collection of over 60,000 books, maps, letters, and documents; hired scribes to copy material in private hands; and employed interviewers to capture the memories of early Spanish and Mexican settlers. In 1890 he published an 800-hundred-page autobiography, entitled Literary Industries. 

His great-great-granddaughter, the award-winning writer Kim Bancroft, will discuss the legacy in an October 15 lecture at the Sonoma Community Center. Literary Industries – Chasing a Vanishing West is presented by the Sonoma Historical Society at 2pm.  

Free, but donations welcome. Andrews Hall, 276 E Napa St, Sonoma.