Photograph of an illustrated portrait of James Alexander Forbes, [s.d.]. The portrait is taken from the upper torso up and shows Forbes wearing a dark jacket and bow tie. He has thin gray hair and is staring at the camera. Forbes was a native of Scotland, reared in Spain in the early 19th century. He came to the Spanish colonies as a British consular official. Later, he became British consul to Mexican California and, in 1848, became the first British consul to U.S. California. He was the author of early California history. He married Dona Ana Maria Galindo of an old northern California pioneer family.