Joseph Balmer

Joseph Balmer (December 26, 1914 – June 4, 2006) was a noted Swiss 20th century historian and expert on Native Americana.

Joseph Balmer
Joseph Balmer 1962
Born(1914-12-26)26 December 1914
Ebikon, Lucerne, Switzerland
Died4 June 2006(2006-06-04) (aged 91)
Küsnacht, Zurich, Switzerland
Occupationhistorian
NationalitySwiss
GenreNative Americans, Plains Indians, Western Americana
SpouseHedwig Huber
ChildrenJosef James Balmer; Susanna Hedwig Maria Balmer

Early life

Born in Ebikon, Lucerne son of Peter Balmer of Flühli, Lucerne and of Josephine Magdalena, née Schwerzmann. In 1920, his family moved to Horw, Lucerne where Balmer attended elementary school for six years, following his secondary schooling (Swiss equivalent of the American high school) in the city of Lucerne.[1] In 1929 his family moved again, to Zürich, Switzerland's largest city where his father found employment in an import/export firm primarily dealing with oriental carpets. Balmer would briefly find part-time work at the same firm where his father worked. In 1930 at the age of 16 Balmer entered a mercantile apprenticeship with the COOP Konkordia Schweiz and underwent 3 years' training as an accountant, graduating in 1933.[2] In his sparetime his interests where elsewhere. He was captivated by North America's Indians.[3]

Career

Starting in the 1920s Balmer would spend many hours at the local libraries in Zürich, devouring anything pertaining to Native Americans and the American frontier. He was particularly inspired by the book "Der Letzte Mandanen Häuptling" (The Last Chief of the Mandans) by Wilhelm Herchenbach, (Manz Publishers, Regensburg, Germany 1883)[4][5] inspiring his lifelong obsession with the subject. Balmer, by now highly proficient in English, began corresponding with the notable scholars of Native Americana in this period, luminaries such as Stanley Vestal, George E. Hyde, Earl Alonzo Brininstool, Mari Sandoz[6] and others gaining encyclopedic insights to such a degree that he attained a reputation as an expert in this field. He also taught himself the Lakota language. He managed to write as many as 800 letters per year. Balmer, at the suggestion of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also reached out to various Indian reservations in South Dakota befriending a number of the few surviving veterans of the Indian Wars. The descendants of Chief Red Cloud at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation adopted Balmer into the family bestowing upon him the Lakota name Wambli Ista [Eagle Eye], a fact into which he took great pride. Over the years Balmer acquired hundreds of first edition books on Native American subjects by notable authors, many of which are inscribed personally to him. He also owned an impressive collection of Native American artifacts, among of which is a pair of moccasins once owned by James Henry Red Cloud (1879-1960), grandson of the great chief Red Cloud and a warbonnet trailer decorated with eagle feathers that had belonged to Jackson "Jack" Red Cloud (ca. 1858-1918), the former's son. Balmer also assembled a vast collection of period photographs by notable photographers such as David Francis Barry, Orlando Scott Goff, John C. H. Grabill, Stanley J. Morrow, Frank Bennett Fiske, George W. Scott, Laton Alton Huffman, George E. Trager & Frederick Kuhn and others. By the 1950s Balmer's reputation as an Native American expert had become legendary, even though he never set foot onto the American continent or ever personally encountered a Native American. He was frequently consulted by scholars and authors throughout the remainder of his life, among of which the Swiss author de:Ernie Hearting. Balmer died on June 4, 2006[7] in Küsnacht.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Personal life

Balmer was married in Zürich on May 21, 1937 to Hedwig Huber [1915-2011] of the same place. The union produced two children, Josef James and Susanna Hedwig Maria Balmer.[14][15]

References
  1. manuscript, Joseph Balmer's autobiographical notes, courtesy private information by Mr. Josef J. Balmer, Küsnacht ZH, Switzerland
  2. Stadtarchiv Zürich, Neumarkt 4, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
  3. The English Westerners' Society – Custer Association of Great Britain, The Tally Sheet, Spring 2007, Volume 53, Number 2, pages 13 through 15
  4. Herchenbach, Wilhelm (1813-1889)... 2565/162 Der Letzte Mandanenhäuptling. Erzählung für Volk und Jugend. Regensburg: Manz (1883) 8°, 154 S., mit 2 Chromolithographien, (neue Erzählungen für Volk und Jugend. 70. Bändchen), 4. Auflage (1914)
  5. Klotz, Aiga, Kinder- und Jugendliteratur in Deutschland 1840-1950, Band 2, Gesamtverzeichnis der Veröffentlichungen in deutscher Sprache, von Aiga Klotz, J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung Stuttgart (1992) Seite 223
  6. extensive string of correspondence between Joseph Balmer and author/historian Mari Sandoz University of Nebraska Archives, “Mari Sandoz Collection’ Ref. MS0080: -Regarding Crazy Horse; Fire Water and Forked Tongues. Item Mari Sandoz to Joseph Balmer, 1947, Oct. 28 reel #0015.100-105 -Regarding plates to Slogum House. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1947, Nov. 8 #reel 0015.159-160 -Regarding Crazy Horse plates. Item Mari Sandoz to Joseph Balmer, 1947, Nov. 28 reel #0015.243-244 -Regarding DeVoto's The Year of Decision; Mormons. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1947, Dec. 23 reel #0015.318-320 -Regarding royalty statement; The Tom-Walker. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1948, Feb. 20 reel #0015.519 -Regarding completion of "the horse story"; plans for summer; Wisconsin Writers Institute; plans for "Cheyenne book"; Dull Knife; Little Wolf; publisher options. Item Mari Sandoz to Joseph Balmer, 1948, Mar. 8 reel #0015.548-549 -Regarding Nebraska Cave lore. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1948, Mar. 20 reel #0015.568 -Regarding copy of a letter from Helen C. White. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1948, Apr. 2 reel #0015.587-588 -Regarding a thank you card. Item Mari Sandoz to Joseph Balmer, 1948, Apr. 14 reel #0015.598-599 -Regarding Lincoln social scene; common friends and acquaintances. Item Joseph Balmer to Mari Sandoz, 1948, May 1 reel #0015.619-620 -Regarding Stanley Vestal; Brininstool; Chris Madsen; Buffalo Bill Cody; truth in historical writing. Item Mari Sandoz to Joseph Balmer, 1948, May 5 reel #0015.624
  7. Balmer's Burial site. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/203455446/joseph-balmer
  8. 'The Indian Hobbyist Movement in Europe', in Wilcomb E.Washburn (ed.) Handbook of American Indians Vol.4: History of Indian White Relations, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 562–569, published in 1986
  9. The English Westerners' Society – Custer Association of Great Britain, The Tally Sheet, Spring 2007, Volume 53, Number 2, pages 13 through 15
  10. Stanley Vestal Papers, University of Oklahoma Library Archives, Prof. Walter Stanley Campbell (1877-1957), Box 109, Vestal's correspondence with Joseph Balmer 1934 through 1955. https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/nam/collection.asp?cID=1224&sID=7
  11. Rapid City Daily Journal, October 12th, 1951
  12. The Daily Republic, Mitchell SD, December 16th, 1954
  13. Crazy Horse: a Lakota Life by Kingsley M. Bray 2006
  14. Stadtarchiv Zürich, Neumarkt 4, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
  15. manuscript, Joseph Balmer's autobiographical notes, courtesy private information by Mr. Josef J. Balmer, Küsnacht ZH, Switzerland
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