Laurence L. Shaw's Francis Drake Controversy Collection

Collection

Identifier: SHL187

Staff Only

Content Description

A box of materials collected by Laurence L. Shaw on the controversy of the brass plate, supposedly left by Francis Drake, found in San Francisco Bay, California, in 1936. The collection includes: a copy of the book “The Plate of Brass: Evidence of the Visit of Francis Drake to California in the Year 1579 ” by California Historical Society, 1953; a paperback book “The Plate of Brass Reexamined 1977”: a report issued by the Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley; an issue of California Historical Quarterly Vol. LIII, Fall 1974, No. 3: Special Issue on Francis Drake Controversy; folders: 1. Stapled pages from California Historical Quarterly, Sept. 1962, titled “Drake Landed in San Francisco Bay in 1579. The Testimony of the Plate of Brass” by Walter A. Starr. 2. Stapled pages from California Historical Quarterly, June 1964: “Francis Drake and Nova Albion” by Captain Adolph S. Oko. 3. Newspaper clipping from Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 8, 1977: “Sir Francis Drake’s Plate – A Brazen Fake”, and other materials with only short paragraphs mentioning Drake. Some of the materials have Shaw's comments in pencil

Dates

1953-1977

Creator

Laurence L. Shaw (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (1540-1596), was a pre-eminent English navigator, politician, and civil engineer of the Elizabethan age. He became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Queen Elizabeth thought very highly of him and appointed him second-in-command of the English fleet that sailed against the Spanish Armada in 1588. In 1579 Drake left a brass plate at his landing place in Northern California, claiming the land for England. In 1936 it appeared that Drake's plate had been found near San Francisco. The plate was acquired by the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Forty years later, scientists confirmed that the plate was a hoax.

Extent

1 box ([describe boxes, items, etc. here]) ; 14.5" x 11.5"

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (1540-1596), was a pre-eminent English navigator, politician, and civil engineer of the Elizabethan age. Collection contains stories on the hoax, concerning his brass plate, supposedly found in San Francisco in 1936.