Ralph Rambo
Ralph Rambo (1894–1990) was a San Jose (California) historian. He wrote 14 books about life in the Santa Clara Valley in California. He was born in San Jose, California on May 16, 1894 and died in Palo Alto, California on May 19, 1990.
His books were extremely colorful and, according to the author, loosely recounted his experiences growing up during the pioneer days in the area. Ralph Rambo's profession was a graphic artist. He was the Art Director for Muirson Label Company for almost fifty years. His illustrations are quite vivid, often hand-lettered in an entertaining or comics fashion. He merged humor with history in order to convey historical value of his stories.
A self-proclaimed "nostalgician," he could be compared with other social historians such as Herb Caen in San Francisco, California and "Petaluma Peopleologist," Bill Soberanes.
Publications
- Looking Backward 1900, pub. 1959 [apparently a manuscript in the San Jose Library]
- Plant Life: A Rambling Treatise on the rearing and early culture of a common indoor plan, 1963 [apparently a manuscript in the San Jose Library]
- Almost Forgotten: cartoon pen and linkings of the old Santa Clara Valley, pub. 1964
- Remember When. A Boy's-Eye View of an Old Valley, pub. 1965
- Me and Cy and a "retirement colony" in the Alviso garbage dumps, 1966
- Lady of Mystery (Sarah Winchester), pub. 1967
- "Lo, the Poor Indian" of the Santa Clara Valley, pub. 1967
- Trailing the Californio Bandit, Tiburcio Vaquez, 1835–1875, pub. 1968 (the title is hand-lettered and "Californio" is often read as "California"[1])
- The Little House, by a Pioneer Occupant (dedicated to outhouses), pub. 1969
- Adventure Valley: Pioneer Adventures in the Santa Clara Valley, pub. 1970
- Sierra Santa, pub. 1971
- Pioneer Blue Book of the old Santa Clara Valley, pub. 1973
- Pen and Inklings, pub. 1984 (compilation of previous books with new material)
- E-day 1906: Witness to an Earthquake, pub. 1987
