Description:

John Muir
[Boston, MA], [ca. December 28, 1905]
Rare John Muir Letter As Member of the American Alpine Club - Gives Voting Proxy to Famous Fellow Explorer!
TDS

A very scarce typed document signed by John Muir [Boston, December 28, 1905] as a member of the noted American Alpine Club, a climber's organization operating to this day. Muir adds his signature to a proposed Club amendment, permitting mountaineer and explorer Henry Grier Bryant to vote in his name and stead at the next meeting in Philadelphia. Folds with light soiling thereon, else boldly signed and very good. 1p. 8" x 5" (sight). Matted in cream stock and set, with a portrait, into a fine 13" x 20" gilt frame. Not examined out of frame.

In full:

"The undersigned member of the AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB hereby . . . . approves of the action taken at the annual meeting of the Club at Boston on December 28, 1905 in connection with the proposed amendments to the By-Laws, and hereby appoints HENRY G. BRYANT his proxy to vote in his name and stead, in accordance with these instructions, at the adjourned meeting of the Club to be held at Philadelphia on March 17th, 1906."

The American Alpine Club was founded in 1902 and now "is committed to providing climbers with resources that advance knowledge, inspiration, and advocacy." Muir was a accomplished climber himself, beginning with climbing up on the roof of his house as a boy as well as scaling garden walls and climbing trees (much to his parents' dismay). Later, as "John of the Mountains," he summited Mount Rainier, Mount Shasta, Cathedral Peak, Mount Dana and others. For him, ascending a mountain was like an act of worship in the church of the wilderness. Muir once stated: "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees."

Robert Grier Bryant (1859-1932) was a renowned American explorer who made a journey to Grand Falls of Labrador in 1891; he then co-led the Peary Relief Expedition aboard the "Kite," resupplying Peary's encampment in Greenland. In 1894, Bryant led the Peary Auxiliary Expedition aboard the "Falcon." He summited a number of impressive mountains worldwide, too, including Mount Nantai, Pidurutalagala, and Mouna Loa.

John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist sometimes referred to as the "Father of the National Parks." He co-founded The Sierra Club in 1892, went camping with Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, and was lifelong devotee of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, all in the spirit of discovering and preserving the divine sanctity in nature.

John Muir's three-night camping trip with Roosevelt in 1903 could be considered the most significant camping trip in conservation history. Muir was able to persuade Roosevelt to return Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park. Eventually, their discussion prompted the Presidential signature on the Yosemite Recession Bill in June, 1906.

No one could express Muir's mission better than the pioneering preservationist himself: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike" (John Muir, 1912).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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