Wagner, Henry Raup, 1862-1957

Wagner was born on Sept. 27, 1862 in Philadelphia, PA; A.B. (1884), LL. B (1886), L.H.D. (1946), Yale Univ.; D. Litt. (1935), Pomona College; LL. D (1949), UC Berkeley; admitted to Missouri bar in 1887 and began practicing in Kansas City; became member of the executive committee (1918-20), the vice president (1920-21), American Smelting and Refining Co., New York; began to collect books, and made contributions to the history and bibliography of Latin America and the American West; member, American Antiquarian Society; published works include Sir Francis Drake's voyage around the world : its aims and achievements (1926), Spanish voyages to the Northwest coast of America in the sixteenth century (1929), and The Grabhorn Press : a catalogue of imprints in the collection of Henry R. Wagner (1938); he died on Mar. 28, 1957.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1940-1956. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 40352661

Wagner was a book collector and author.

From the description of Henry Raup Wagner papers, 1912-1957. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 26643694

Biographical Note

Henry Raup Wagner will be most remembered as a successful business executive and a producer of bibliographical and historical texts. Wagner was born on September 27, 1862 in a suburb of Philadelphia. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Yale College and a law degree from Yale Law School. After one year in practice, he left the law field and pursued the mining business as a vocation, eventually becoming part of American Smelting and Refining Company.

Wagner traveled extensively in Latin America and Europe until he met his wife, Blanche Henrietta Collet. They settled in Berkeley, California, they area in which they resided for the remainder of their lives.

Throughout the course of a half-century, Wagner produced over one hundred scholarly bibliographical and historical studies chiefly on Latin and Western America. One of his most famous publications was "Sir Francis Drake's Voyage Around the World: Its Aims and Achievements." Aside from the volumes which he published, Wagner also amassed an extensive collection of books and documents of his own. Since his death in 1957, most of his collection has been donated to the libraries at Yale, Brown, Berkeley, and other universities.

From the guide to the Henry Raup Wagner Collection, 1920-1983, (Special Collections & University Archives: Finding Aid Database)

Biography

Wagner was born on September 27, 1862 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; A.B. (1884), LL.B (1886), L.H.D. (1946), Yale University; D.Litt. (1935), Pomona College; LL.D (1949), University of California at Berkeley; admitted to Missouri bar in 1887 and began practicing in Kansas City; became member of the executive committee (1918-20), the vice president (1920-21), American Smelting and Refining Company, New York; began to collect books, and made contributions to the history and bibliography of Latin America and the American West; member, American Antiquarian Society; published works include Sir Francis Drake's Voyage Around The World: Its Aims and Achievements (1926), Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast of America in the Sixteenth Century (1929), and The Grabhorn Press: a Catalogue of Imprints in the Collection of Henry R. Wagner (1938); he died on March 28, 1957.

From the guide to the Henry Raup Wagner Papers, ca. 1940-1956, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)

Biography

Joseph Libbey Folsom was born May 19, 1817, in New Hampshire. He was a graduate of West Point and came to California in March, 1847 as Captain and Assistant Quartermaster of Stevenson's Regiment of New York Volunteers. He was the first Collector of the Port of San Francisco under American rule. He invested in San Francisco real estate and his purchase of the Leidesdorff estate made him very wealthy. The town of Folsom was built on property purchased from the Leidessdorff estate and named for Captain Folsom. He died in San Jose, July 19, 1855.

From the guide to the Joseph Libbey Folsom Collection, 1848-1859, (California State Library)

Henry Raup Wagner, known for his contributions to the bibliography and scholarship of the American and Spanish-American West, attended Yale College and Law School. Wagner eventually entered the mining business, spending most of his career working for the Guggenheim's American Smelting and Refining Company. Retiring in 1917, he married Blanche Henrietta Collet and settled in California. Most of Wagner's scholarly work dates from after his retirement.

Wagner's interest in rare books began in the 1880s. Although his collecting fields changed over the years, he eventually focused on Western Americana, using his collections to write bibliographies such as The Plains and the Rockies and The Spanish Southwest . In addition, he wrote on a variety of topics from the cartography of the West coast to Fernando Cortés.

Wagner was active in the California Historical Society, the Cortés Society, and the Quivira Society, and served as president of the Historical Society of Southern California in 1933-34. He was a good friend to many libraries. He not only donated works to the Bancroft Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, the John Carter Brown Library, and the Yale University Library, but also served on committees to promote and support these institutions.

Further information on Wagner and his work can be found in his autobiography Bullion to Books (1942). The Published Writings of Henry R. Wagner (New Haven: William Reese Company, announced for 1987) contains a biographical essay by Stephen A. Colston, and a list of books about Wagner.

From the guide to the Henry Raup Wagner papers, 1917-1962, 1930-1952, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)