George Wharton James

George Wharton James in his workshop

George Wharton James (1858–1923) was a prolific popular lecturer, photographer and journalist, writing more than 40 books and many articles and pamphlets on California and the American Southwest.

James was born in Lincolnshire, England. He was ordained as a Methodist minister and came to the United States in 1881, serving in parishes in Nevada and southern California. However, in 1889 he was sued for divorce, accused by his wife with committing numerous acts of adultery. He subsequently underwent an ecclesiastical trial, charged with real estate fraud, using faked credentials, and sexual misconduct. He was defrocked, although he was later reinstated.

James' books included The Wonders of the Colorado Desert (1906), Through Ramona's Country (1909), In & Out of the Old Missions of California (1912), and The Lake of the Sky (1915). Characteristics of his writing included romanticism, an enthusiasm for natural environments, idealization of aboriginal lifeways, and health faddism. He had a long-running feud with Charles Fletcher Lummis, another writer with similar regional interests.

The California State Library and the University of California, Berkeley have collections of James' books and pamphlets. A collection of his photographs is on file at the University of New Mexico. The Southwest Museum in Los Angeles also has some of his papers and photographs.

Bibliography

• James, George Wharton; Eytel, Carl (illustrator) (1906). The Wonders of the Colorado Desert. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. ASIN B001ONLGSM. ISBN 978-1103733613.  LCC F868.S15 J2
• James, George Wharton (1909). Indian basketry. Henry Malkan. ISBN 0-486-21712-4. 
• James, George Wharton (1914). Indian blankets and their makers. A.C. McClurg and Co.. ISBN 0-486-22996-3. 
• James, George Wharton (2009). The Old Franciscan Missions of California (Illustrated Edition). The echo library. ISBN 978-1-4068-2950-1. 
• James, George Wharton (2009). The Lake of the Sky. The echo library. ISBN 978-1-4068-2952-5. 
• James, George Wharton (2009). The Grand Canyon of Arizona: How to See It. The echo library. ISBN 978-1-40685-328-5. 
• James, George Wharton (2003). In and Out of the Old Missions of California. 
• James, George Wharton (2009). Quit Your Worrying!. The echo library. ISBN 978-1-40685-330-8. 
• James, George Wharton (2011). Indian Basketry, and How to Make Indian and Other Baskets. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 9781178587128. 
• James, George Wharton (1929). New Mexico, the land of the delight makers. The Page Company. 

On-line works

• Works by George Wharton James at Project Gutenberg
• "An Adventure in Beaver Canyon 1899"
• "Basket Makers," Sunset 8(1) (1901)
• "A Saboba Origin-Myth" (1902)
• "The Legend of Tauquich and Algoot" (1903)
• The Grand Canyon of Arizona: How to See It (1910)
• The Old Franciscan Missions Of California by George Wharton James at Project Gutenberg (1913)

References

• Bourdon, Roger Joseph. 1966. George Wharton James, Interpreter of the Southwest. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
• Larson, Roger Keith (1991). Controversial James: An Essay on the Life and Work of George Wharton James. San Francisco: The Book Club of California. ASIN B0006EY8AS. OCLC 24570433.  LCC F865.J35 L37 1991
• Starr, Kevin. 1973. Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Starr, Kevin. 1985. Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Wild, Peter. 1990. George Wharton James. Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.

External links

• George Wharton James at Find a Grave