NOTES ON CALIFORNIA AND THE PLACERS: HOW TO GET THERE, AND WHAT TO DO AFTERWARDS. By One Who Has Been There

[Delavan, James]

Published by New York, 1850

Used

From William Reese Company - Americana, New Haven, CT, U.S.A. Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars

AbeBooks Seller since July 13, 2006

Association Member:

This book is no longer available. AbeBooks has millions of books. Please enter search terms below to find similar copies.

View this seller's items Create a Want for similar items

View all copies of this book

About this Item

[3]-128pp. Modern half morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt. Front wrapper, titlepage, two plates, and final text leaf provided in facsimile. Internally clean and tightly bound. A decent copy (though with the titlepage, final two pages, and plates in facsimile) of a gold rush rarity. Delavan travelled to California via Panama, made a quick fortune in the mines, and saw quite a bit of the rest of the region, including San Francisco and Sacramento. "This is one of the earliest diaries kept by an actual Gold Hunter and gives an unusually frank and detailed account of daily life at the diggings. Delavan was one of the original Feather River Party of '49 and struck it rich at Rocky Bar, where in less than three weeks he took out over 100 pounds of the yellow metal. His book describes the trip to California - the San Francisco of 1849; extravagant prices; the Gaming Halls; the fortunes won and lost; life and observations in Benicia; Embarcadero (Sacramento); Sutter's Fort; Culloma (sic); Mormon Island; Volcano Bar; Spanish Bar; Kelsey's Bar; Feather River; North Fork; Rector's Bar; San Joaquin; Stockton; Monterey, etc. Other sections of the book deal with the 'Code Lynch,' the Oregon immigration; the Indian Tribes; their depredations, etc.; methods of mining; traders and trading posts; kaleidoscopic conditions; manners and customs; routes; and advice to emigrants" - Eberstadt. "One of the most spirited accounts of the journey to California and life in the mines" - Kurutz. Very scarce on the market, with only the Clifford-Volkmann copy having appeared at auction in recent times ($18,400 at the Volkmann sale in February 2005). A wounded copy of a major gold rush rarity. Not an exact comparison, given the imperfect nature of the copy offered here. The Streeter copy sold to the Carnegie Book Store, bidding for the Clements Library, for $600 in 1968. KURUTZ 183a. HOWES D237, "b." GRAFF 1044. COWAN, p.164. ROCQ 15773. WHEAT GOLD RUSH 58. STREETER SALE 2628. CLIFFORD SALE 33. SABIN 10036. DECKER 23:95. EBERSTADT 104:38. Seller Inventory # WRCAM43710

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title: NOTES ON CALIFORNIA AND THE PLACERS: HOW TO ...
Publisher: New York
Publication Date: 1850

AbeBooks offers millions of new, used, rare and out-of-print books, as well as cheap textbooks from thousands of booksellers around the world. Shopping on AbeBooks is easy, safe and 100% secure - search for your book, purchase a copy via our secure checkout and the bookseller ships it straight to you.