Alaskan History
A Bibliography of Alaskan Literature 1724-1924 In the October, 1928 issue of The Washington Historical Quarterly, published by The Washington University State Historical Society, there appeared a brief but historically interesting book review of James Wickersham’s A Bibliography of Alaskan Literature 1724-1924, a book of over 635 pages with an equally long subtitle: Containing the Titles of All Histories, Travels, Voyages, Newspapers, Periodicals, Public Documents, etc., Printed in English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, etc., Relating To, Descriptive Of, Or Published In Russian America or Alaska, From 1724 to and Including 1924. Charles Wesley Smith, the Quarterly’s business manager, key supporter, and frequent book reviewer, who would one day be University of Washington Librarian Emeritus, observed that the publication of Wickersham’s book “may well be considered a notable event.”
James Wickersham James Wickersham, a 43-year-old politically active lawyer in Tacoma, Washington, came to Alaska as a newly appointed federal judge in 1900, crossing the territory by dogteam in winter and steamship in summer to administer justice wherever it was needed. In 1903 he
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