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Dear Brother:
Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark

In association with Yale University Press, The Filson Historical Society is proud to present
Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark, a publication of William Clark’s letters
that are part of the unique Lewis and Clark Collection at The Filson.

These highly significant William Clark letters were written to his beloved oldest brother, Jonathan,
over an almost twenty-year period. They contain important information about the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, the post-expedition life of his slave, York, the death of Meriwether Lewis, and many
other people and subjects. They provide a window to William Clark’s world, through which we can
view its people and events in it, including William Clark himself. A total of fifty-five letters (including
eight written to other Clark family members that appear in an appendix) are divided into chapters
reflecting periods of William Clark’s life mirrored by the letters. Edited by James J. Holmberg,
the curator of special collections at The Filson, the book reveals the value of the letters through
extensive notes, an introduction, brief chapter introductions, illustrations, and a foreword by noted
Lewis and Clark scholar James P. Ronda.

Those familiar with the history of the letters know that they were discovered in a Louisville attic in
1998 among the family papers of Temple Bodley, a Jonathan Clark descendant. Mr. Holmberg,
in reflecting upon seeing the Clark letters for the first time, remembers the experience as one of the
most memorable moments in his curatorial career. In recognizing the significance of the letters, he
knew they should be published. Both professors James Ronda and Gary Moulton, editor of
The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, have stated that William’s letters to his brother
Jonathan provide greater insight into the man himself than any other known letters. Readers will be
able to experience for themselves the world of William Clark as given to us by the pen of the great
explorer himself.

Price: $35.00
Click here to order Dear Brother.