Lot 216: SHED, CHARLES DYER

Two autograph letters, signed. To his daughter Alista ("Allie") Shed in Hawai'i. Alameda & San Francisco, California: 14 January 1885 and 15 June (no year)

8vo, 4 pages & 1 ½ pages, plus photograph of Alista and of an etching of their house in Alameda.

NOTE

Charles Dyer Shed (1818-1893) came from Boston to California during the Gold Rush in 1849. He worked as a ship chandler and as a scene painter for the theatrical producer David Robinson. He is known for his landscapes of northern California and his views of shipping activities in San Francisco Bay. His daughter, born in 1863, later married Britton of the publisher Britton & Ray.

His longer letter describes the artist Jules Tavernier (1844-1889), best known for his treatment of volcanoes. Tavernier arrived in Honolulu late in 1884 to escape his California creditors. He spent considerable time in Hawai'i producing many landscapes in his Hilo studio. Shed confides "He is a Frenchman, wild one at that, a Regular Bohemian as they call them, that is he belongs to the Bohemian Club, never pays his bills, that's his reputation that between you and me he may want to borrow from some of you islanders."

The photograph was taken at the Shed home at 1616 Alameda Avenue, in Alameda California.