John Muir (1838-1914) was one of America’s most influential conservationists. A naturalist, world traveler, and prolific writer, Muir was a champion of wilderness, who co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892, successfully lobbied for the expansion of national forests, and was instrumental in the creation of Yosemite, Sequoia, Mt. Rainier and Grand Canyon National Parks.
As a young man, however, Muir also invented and built numerous mechanical devices, including this magnificent clockwork desk, made between 1861 and 1863 while he was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
