HANCOCK MCCLUNG JOHNSTON (1847-1904). Hancock McClung Johnston was a real estate developer in early Los Angelese, California. He was the son of Albert Sidney Johnston, a famed confederate officer in the Civil War. Because of his developments on the East Side of Los Angeles, he had Hancock and Johnston street named after him.ALS. 3pg. Los Angeles, California. February 7, 1881. An autograph letter signed H. M. J. to his mother, Eliza Griffin Johnston, discussing stocks and real estate. Dear Mother: I have a chance to sell all or part of your Water Stock for $ of 5.00 per share. I have sold for you anyhow 16 2/3 shares for the reason that the Company will have to stop paying dividends for 3 or 4 months in order to renew some old pipes + I thought it best to sell some so you would have money on hand to live on. The stock if managed fairly is a good investment but as we dont control it any more it may be risky. If you want to hold on to 50 shares it may be as well to do so, provided you know of no better investment paying an income every month- I could invest the money for you so that it would double itself in two or three years on a safe investment but meantime you would have no in-come- Send me your Certificates of Stock together with your Power of Attorney to sell it and then tell me how much to sell. The stock will net you $5000.00 which is $600.00 short of the money you loaned me, but I will pay you the $600.00 so you wont be out much on the investment. I think that you had better sell it all, after thinking the matter over, and chance it on finding some secure investment. Send the papers as soon as you have thought the matter over, but dont take longer than a day over it as by delay, I might lose the chance to sell. The Salmon arrived yesterday am much obliged, but wont send for any more things unless you let me pay for them- I am not so badly off- as I was! I feel sure of selling Mags place this spring. A great boom is commencing here again in real estate and I have strong hopes of unloading every-thing and am offering property for about half the prices that others offer it at. I tell you I have gone through this for purely on nerve and have no more sympathy or good will than a mad dog. I have been treated in the most brutal manner by those that owed me the most kindness of feeling, from this on, I owe the world just one pound of flesh, for one pound of flesh, and I want full measure every time, and if I ever make another raise I will never be poor again! And I am one of the kind that knows how to make money as well as spend it. Jacks head is all well again and he has not left a very bad scar, it did not even give him a bad headache. I have not sold any number of horses yet, but I have a fair prospect of selling out before long. Griff is fatter than I ever saw him and if he would not smoke I think he would stay so at least all the Doctors say so. If I had discharged Eason a year ago I would have been $5000 better off- My love to all Your affectionate son H. M. J. Hancock was also involved in Los Angeles' real estate. In the 1870s, Los Angeles had a population of a little more than 5,000, but by 1900, there were over 100,000 people. This is the boom in real estate that he refers to, as many people began moving into Los Angeles, and provided good conditions for selling his sister, Mags, house. He goes on to allude to how he has been taken advantage of and will not any more. This letter is in very good condition.

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Title: Early Los Angeles Real Estate Developer Discusses Stocks And Housing Boom In Letter
Signed: Signed by Author(s)

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Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, Inc. buys and sells historic letters, documents, manuscripts and archives. My specialties include Presidents, Revolutionary War and Civil War figures, Declaration of Independence Signers, famous authors, important business leaders, notable scientists, aviators, notable women and African-Americans, and other "household famous names." I also enjoy handling the letters and archives of ordinary people whose writings have extraordinary or unusual content, such as an eyewitness description of the Pearl Harbor attack. I am a member of all major trade organizations, including the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the Professional Autograph Dealers Association (PADA), the Appraisers Association of America, the Manuscript Society and the Ephemera Society. I am located in South Orange, New Jersey, and I travel to many book and manuscript shows every year. I am one of the very few members of the Appraisers Association of America certified to appraise historic documents, manuscripts and letters. I am USPAP qualified to perform appraisals for estate, donation and insurance purposes; please contact me for a confidential discussion of your appraisal needs. I am an author myself, having published The Last Leaf: Voices of History's Last-Known Survivors (Prometheus Books, 2010) that contains 39 interviews with the last survivor of, or final eyewitness to, important historical events. Chapters include interviews with the last three Civil War widows, the final living pitcher to surrender a home run to Babe Ruth, Houdini's last stagehand, and the final American doughboy. Lastly, I can frequently be seen authenticating and appraising on the History Channel hit show Pawn Stars.

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