细节
[CALIFORNIA GOLD MINING]. DEGROOT, Henry. Recollections of California Mining Life, written for the Scientific Press. San Francisco: Dewey & Co., 1884.
8o. Five full-page wood-engravings in text. Original blue pictorial wrappers, vignette of a placer miner on front wrapper; half morocco slipcase. Provenance: Jean Hersholt (bookplate in chemise).
THE HERSHOLT COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA AND THE EXPERIENCES OF THE EARLIEST PROSPECTORS. DeGroot's colorful account gives us the vivid particulars of the gold find, gleaned from the participants themselves: James Wilson Marshall's first sighting of the yellow chunks in his saw mill, his excited reports to Captain Sutter, and this homespun confirmation: "Peter Wimmer, who was with Marshall when he found the first piece of gold, had also gathered a small quantity. Taking a portion of this, his wife, who did the cooking, for the men, had subjected it to what was considered a crucial test, boiling it in a decoction of strong lye. As the stuff stood this trial without tarnishing, it was conceded on all hands that it must be gold." The illustrations by Anthony and Baker, depicting Sutter's mill, different forms of mining and the towns of Rabbit Creek, are from drawings by Charles Nahl. The work is scarce, with only three copies sold at auction since 1975, according to American Book Prices Current. Cowan p. 162-163; Decker 32:51; Kurutz 175; Morgan Gardiner p. xvii; Norris 948; Randall 135; Rocq 15772; Streeter V:2985; Wheat Books of the California Gold Rush 56.
8o. Five full-page wood-engravings in text. Original blue pictorial wrappers, vignette of a placer miner on front wrapper; half morocco slipcase. Provenance: Jean Hersholt (bookplate in chemise).
THE HERSHOLT COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA AND THE EXPERIENCES OF THE EARLIEST PROSPECTORS. DeGroot's colorful account gives us the vivid particulars of the gold find, gleaned from the participants themselves: James Wilson Marshall's first sighting of the yellow chunks in his saw mill, his excited reports to Captain Sutter, and this homespun confirmation: "Peter Wimmer, who was with Marshall when he found the first piece of gold, had also gathered a small quantity. Taking a portion of this, his wife, who did the cooking, for the men, had subjected it to what was considered a crucial test, boiling it in a decoction of strong lye. As the stuff stood this trial without tarnishing, it was conceded on all hands that it must be gold." The illustrations by Anthony and Baker, depicting Sutter's mill, different forms of mining and the towns of Rabbit Creek, are from drawings by Charles Nahl. The work is scarce, with only three copies sold at auction since 1975, according to American Book Prices Current. Cowan p. 162-163; Decker 32:51; Kurutz 175; Morgan Gardiner p. xvii; Norris 948; Randall 135; Rocq 15772; Streeter V:2985; Wheat Books of the California Gold Rush 56.