Robert J. Woods Western Americana
Robert J. Woods was one of the seven founding members of the Zamorano Club (Southern California’s oldest organization of bibliophiles, founded in 1928) and a co-author of the Zamorano 80: A Selection of Distinguished California Books (1945). The University of Alberta acquired Wood’s collection of Western Americana in 1968 at a Los Angeles auction. At that time, the collection comprised over 6,500 books, pamphlets, and periodicals, amongst which were a large collection of publications from the Grabhorn Press (1915–1966), many accounts of Pacific Coast voyages, rare early books on the gold rush of 1849, and 57 of the 80 volumes described in The Zamorano 80. Bruce Peel Special Collections has continued to build upon the collection, which now comprises over 8,000 volumes, including a significant number of Zamorano 80 titles, and the collection serves as a resource for research in the field of Western American studies.
Getting started: Most student researchers will want to employ a series of keyword searches in the University of Alberta Library catalogue in order to find relevant print and digital materials in all U of A library locations and collections, including the Peel library. For more information about research in the Peel library, see Finding and Requesting Peel Library Materials.
Collection Formats: 19th Century, 20th Century, 21st Century, Books, Ephemera, Fine Press Books -- click to see other collections with this format
