The letters, documents, diaries and artifacts of the pioneers
The American West has always represented to me the opportunity to be who you can be. Western America was the place where your heritage didn’t determine your future. It defined the American Dream. It is epitomized in our collection of Western American artifacts and documents.
The collection which I have formed over the past 55 years is one of the most diverse. My interest focuses on the letters, documents and diaries, of the ordinary people going west, as well as the explorers and leaders of the western movement. But it also contains the books they read that influenced their going west, the guidebooks and maps they used, and the artifacts they made and took with them.
The artifacts range from examples of every gun used on the frontier, Indian peace medals, and California pioneer gold coins. The collection includes important Indian clothing and ceremonial pieces, and an original stage coach used on the overland route from Tucson to Los Angeles in 1873.
Exploration to Colonization to the Gold Rush
The time frame of the collection is unusual. I view the western movement as starting when the original settlers landed on the Eastern shore and moved inland. Western American artifacts have been collected from a wider scope than many other collections.
Letters and documents of every major figure in American western history are in the collection: Hernando Cortez, Sir Francis Drake, Daniel Boone, George Washington (about opening the Mississippi River)Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett , Audubon, Dubuque, Jedediah Smith, Astor, Kit Carson, Cook, Mackenzie, Vancouver, Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Travis, Sutter, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Jesse and Frank James, the Daltons, Wild Bill Hickok, the Youngers Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Remington and Russell, Custer, Geronimo and Sitting Bull.
Though the collection is not public, I endeavor to answer serious enquiries. I have written two books based on the collection which give a good idea of the comprehensiveness of the collection. Both are available on Amazon.
The Great American West: Pursuing the American Dream
In The Great American West:Pursuing the American Dream, Rendell serves up a combination of the engaging text and dramatic imagery that made his book World War II:Saving the Reality such a popular seller. Readers will see dozens of Western artifacts and relics, letters from famous outlaws, old newspaper clippings, historical maps and posters, and other rarities make the American West come alive — a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be shared with the whole family.
The Western Pursuit of the American Dream
“The Western Pursuit of the American Dream: Selections from the Collection of Kenneth W. Rendell…. succeeds in giving a sense of the struggle to tame the gorgeous wilderness that stretched beyond the tidy civilizations of the east…. It’s worth spending time with.”
— New York Times