Past Tents: The Way We Camped

by Susan Snyder

Full of photographs and descriptions of family outings in the first years of the automobile, and of campgrounds and campfires against the familiar backdrop of the Sierra Nevada, a humorous yet accurate romp through one of the nation's favorite pastimes examines the history of camping in the West. Original.

145 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2006

About the author

Susan Snyder worked as a teacher, illustrator, and Japanese language interpreter before becoming head of public service at The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has spent twenty years exploring the library’s stacks, attics, and moats.

Reviews

[Carolyn Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun edited little book of bits and pieces of information about camping since the advent of "fun" camping in the 1880s up until the 1930s. Hiking advice, pictures, excerpts from letters and guide books. It's really entertaining!

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I'm noting partial bias of knowing Susan Snyder as a remarkable person, beyond the name on the cover of this book. I was also lucky to see the exhibit that was developed from this book at the California Historical Society in 2008.)

This is a great collection of words and images about the early days of camping. Tips, sketches, advertisements, diary entries and more were pulled from the archives at the Bancroft Collection of Western Americana. It is fascinating to think about how much has changed and how much remains the same. (It is easy to image many of the men in the group shot on page 87, queuing up for a haircut and beard trim at Temescal Alley Barber Shop.)

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny look at how people camped in the past....good picutres and stories from journals and diaries, from John Muir for example. It is amazing how much easier camping has become....which is good and bad since people seem to stay in major campgrounds these days and never really experience the wilderness...although, good for us who do get off the beaten path b/c we dont run into many people on our journeys to connect with nature and ourselves! =)