Archives West Finding Aid

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes, a copy of the first territorial seal, a photocopy of Governor J.A. Campbell’s handwritten description of the seal, and a photocopy of his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1869, which includes the seal, as well drafts of three chapters that Bohnsack wrote on the history of the seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes, photocopies, and a photo of the cast of the seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes, photocopies, a draft of a third chapter on the seal, with a photo of the seal as used on Governor Thomas Moonlight’s stationery and a photo of the cast of the seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes, photocopies of clippings, and photos and negatives of different designs for the first state seal, which originally included a nude female figure.

Originally in 3-ring notebook. Includes notes and photocopies of clippings and letters from Wyoming Secretary of State Thyra Thomson to several government officials regarding the location of the original Great Seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes and photocopies of clippings regarding John E. Osborne’s controversial election as governor of Wyoming. Also includes a clipping of an article about Osborne that Bohnsack wrote for the Sunday, March 30, 1975, edition of the Casper Star-Tribune (see below). According to Bohnsack’s notes, “Osborne was to recommend a change in the design of the Great Seal as recommended by Acting Governor Amos Barber, and that recommendation was to be adopted.”

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes and photocopies.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes and correspondence to and from Bohnsack regarding the designs of the Wyoming State Flag and the Great Seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes notes, correspondence regarding permissible uses of the seal in the 1960s and 1970s, and different cuts, photos, and impressions of the seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Includes research notes, a timeline (1890-1893, 1921) of legislation and other events regarding the evolution of the seal, a purchase order from the Wyoming secretary of state for an electric State Seal, cuts and impressions of the seal, a photograph of the electric Seal, and typewritten text that refers to the electric seal as “short-lived” and says that it lasted less than two weeks, accompanied by a photograph of Secretary of State Thyra Thomson with the electric seal.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Research materials on John A. Campbell, Amos W. Barber, A.C. Beckwith, F. Chatterton, John W Meldrum, Asa S. Mercer, and John E. Osborne.

Includes plastic transparencies, photos, photocopies, and cut-outs.

Includes clippings and manuscripts of three articles that Bohnsack published in 1975: (1) “Who Stripped Robes Off Wyoming’s Goddess of Liberty,” published in the July 20, 1975, edition of the Cheyenne Sunday Tribune-Eagle; (2) “Osborne Called Himself Governor,” published in the March 30, 1975, edition of the Casper Star-Tribune; and (3) “Wyoming’s Naked Lady was Controversial,” also published in the March 30, 1975, edition of the Casper Star-Tribune. The manuscripts of the Osborne article are titled “A Pretender to the Throne – The Toy Governor – Was the Bogus Official Wearing his Pink Silk Underpants?” The manuscripts of the “Naked Lady” article are titled “Who Stole the Clothes of the Wyoming Goddess of Liberty? The Lady on the great Seal Posing as a Greek Slave While the Legislature Believed Her Comfortably Attired.” Also includes a short article from the February 13, 1975, edition of the Casper Star-Tribune promoting Bohnsack’s upcoming “Naked Lady” article and a copy of the book This is Wyoming, Listen… (1977) (eds. Roberta C. Cheney and Emmie D. Mygatt), in which that article subsequently appeared.

Includes two copies of a letter that Bohnsack wrote to Tom Hough at the Casper Star-Tribune in which he explains how he became interested in the history of the seal. Also includes photocopies and clippings of newspaper articles (not written by Bohnsack) from 1967 and 1975 about the seal and the nude female figure, and copies of a handout from the sergeant-at-arms of the Wyoming House regarding the seal, and handwritten notes.

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Research materials on the outlaw, including notes and photocopies of clippings and an article from the May 1969 issue of “The West.” Also includes plastic transparencies.

Notes and photocopies of pages from books (mostly Annals of Wyoming).

Originally in a 3-ring notebook. Research materials, including photocopies of chapters from several books and a copy of the nomination form for the placement of the Wyoming State Capitol Building and Grounds in the National Register of Historic Places.

Two copies of the program for the conference “Wyoming’s Second Equality Congress.”

Includes “Guide for Contributors” from the bimonthly magazine “The American West,” a photocopy of “Introductions for Joint Sessions” of the Wyoming Legislature, Jan. 16, 1975, and a copy of the book The Magic City of the Plains: Cheyenne 1867-1967 by Centennial Historical Committee (1967) with marks around specific paragraphs.