PACIFIC COAST GUIDE AND PROGRAMME OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR TRIENNIAL CONCLAVE AT SAN FRANCISCO, AUGUST, 1883

Small octavo: 230 p. with the large lithographed Bancroft folding map and numerous advertisements. Original green cloth binding, with decorative gilt and black stamping. A bit of wear to the corners and tips; otherwise very good. Cowan p.287; Rocq 9831. In 1883, with the Knights Templar due to assemble in San Francisco for their first triennial conclave to be held west of St. Louis, educator Ira Hoitt (1833-1905) saw an opportunity. Between jobs - his term in the California State Assembly was over, and his election to the San Francisco Board of Education still in the future - Hoitt decided to put together a pocket-sized guidebook aimed specifically at the thousands of Masons due to arrive that summer. Issued in both cloth and paper editions, packed with ads for Bancroft & Co., Bradley & Rulofson, Tabor the Photographer, Ghiradelli & Sons, the Yosemite Stage Co., and other local businesses, the guide was advertised as "comprehensive, concise and reliable [.] much information will be found in this handsome little book, of great value to the people of the Pacific Coast, and indispensable to the stranger." Included are a traveler's guide to California via the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Northern Pacific railroads; information on the climate, history, and attractions of California, and a section on camping, as well as an extensive description of San Francisco and its sights - landmark buildings, picnic grounds, Golden Gate Park, clubs and libraries, hotels, Nob Hill, the Cliff House, Woodward's Garden, Chinatown, schools, etc. The last 60 pages are devoted to the Knights Templar with a history of the order, officers, the Triennial Committee and sub-committees, the conclave's week-long program, and other helpful information.…