Selby Smelting & Lead Co
The Selby Smelting and Refining Company was started by Thomas Selby, an Englishman who came to the gold rush in San Francisco in 1849. He started a business in metal and hardware and in 1856 established Selby Smelting and Lead Works, which was the first smelting operation for metals other than gold and silver on the west coast. His company enlarged their facility to forty furnaces and Selby quickly became the largest metal smelter in America.
The original facility was in San Francisco on the corner of 1st and Howard Streets. Selby died in 1875 and his son continued to run the company. In the last quarter of the 19th Century, Selby had outgrown its San Francisco facility and moved across the bay to a site near the Hercules Dynamite Plant. Two small towns grew up nearby by the names of Tormey and Rodeo.
In 1905, at the height of its success, the American Smelting and Refining Co. (ASARCO) purchased Selby. Since the company was so successful, ASARCO left the Selby name intact on all of their operations. In 1970 ASARCO closed the Selby operation because of tax and environmental problems.
During the life of the company Selby had at least six different subsidiaries. These include the Selby Smelting and Refining Company, and Selby Smelting and Lead, etc. The records for Selby were donated to the California State Library in Sacramento.
514. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. with Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express Receipt, San Francisco, CA 29-Nov 1880
No. 4881 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited. $250. Sold
515. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. San Francisco, CA 1-Jul 1885
No. 2395 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited by Anglo California Bank, Ltd. Receipt totaling $3298.08, stamped duplicate in upper left corner. There are some pinholes on the left side and slight creasing throughout, but otherwise this piece is Fine. From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection. $150.
516. Selby Smelting and Lead Co. San Francisco, CA 28-Nov 1887
No. 3151 Assay returns of 112 sacks/11,610 lbs of silver ore. Fine. $175.
517. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. San Francisco, CA 31-Mar 1888
No. 2383 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited & assay report. $100.
518. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. Gold Bullion Deposit, San Francisco, CA 8-Mar 1889
No. 8695 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited for Refining, Duplicate. $100
519. Selby Smelting & Lead Co., San Francisco, CA 2-Dec 1891
No. 9120 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited & assay report. Fine. $75
520. Selby Smelting & Lead Co., San Francisco, CA 17-Aug 1896
No. 2365 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited by The Bullion and Exchange Bank, Carson City. This receipt is for samples totaling $111.07. There are pinholes in the upper right and left corners with slight creasing, otherwise in Very Fine condition. From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection. $150.
521. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. San Francisco, CA 9-Feb 1899
No. 6941 Memorandum of Gold Bullion Deposited by Mierson, Placerville. $75.
522. Selby Smelting & Lead Co. (two items sold as a pair) San Francisco, CA, 13-Apr 1904, 26-Jul 1909
No. 9071 & No. 1320 Memorandums of gold bullion deposited (Silver Bar & Amal) Two items. $100. Sold
523. San Francisco. May 1849 San Francisco Gold Rush Document, San Francisco, CA 11-May 1849
Receipt for 1/2 ream of letter paper purchased by the W.A. Leidesdorff Estate from Sherman & Ruckel, early gold rush merchants. Richard M. Sherman was a native of Rhode Island who came to California in 1846. He was an owner of one of the original San Francisco town lots on which he built a store in 1848. He does not appear to be a relative of Gold Rush Banker and Civil War General W.T. Sherman. William Leidesdorff came to California in 1841, and like Sherman, traveled back and forth between Yerba Buena and Hawaii prior to the gold rush. He built the City Hotel in Yerba Buena in 1846 and died in May of 1848 at the age of 38, leaving behind an extensive estate. Extremely Fine. $750.
524. No Lot
Adolph Sutro & The Sutro Tunnel
525. Adolph Sutro Autograph on Wells Fargo & Co. Check, San Francisco, CA 10-Jan 1893
No. 1186 Wells Fargo & Co. Check signed by Adolph Sutro, the genius behind the Sutro tunnel, financier of numerous San Francisco street railroads and Mayor of San Francisco. The autograph is legible. Very Fine. $60. Sold
526. Adolph Sutro Autograph on Wells Fargo & Co. Check, San Francisco, CA 15-Dec 1892
No.1105 Wells Fargo & Co. Check signed by Adolph Sutro, the genius behind the Sutro tunnel, financier of numerous San Francisco street railroads and Mayor of San Francisco. The autograph is legible. Very Fine. $60. Sold
527. Adolph Sutro, San Francisco, CA 1895
Publication titled “A Brief Story of a Brilliant Life” By Eugenia Kellogg Holmes. Illustrated by Carl Dahlgren. Engraved and Published by the Press of San Francisco Photo-Engraving Co. 1895. This is a very scarce hard-bound biography of Sutro in Mint condition. $450.
528. Sutro Tunnel, Washington, D.C. 22-Nov 1872
The Closing Argument of Adolph Sutro on the Bill Before Congress to Aid The Sutro Tunnel, Delivered Before The Committee on Mines and Mining of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, Monday, April 22, 1872. Washington, D.C. M'Gill & Witherow, Printers and Stereotypers. 1872. No photograph. $200.
529. Sutro Tunnel, Washington, D.C. 1872
Report of the Commissioners and Evidence Taken By The Committee on Mines and Mining of the House of Representatives of the United States, In Regard To The Sutro Tunnel, Together With The Arguments. Washington, D.C. M'Gill & Witherow, Printers and Stereotypers. 1872. No photograph. $300.
530. Sutro Tunnel, New York, NY 1887
The Sutro Tunnel Company and The Sutro Tunnel Property, Income, Prospects and Pending Litigation Report to the Stockholders by Theodore Sutro. New York. 1887 Includes fold out blueprint and map of Mt. Davidson. Extremely Fine Condition. No photograph. $400.
531. Adolph Sutro Autograph, Austin, NV 9-Feb 1864
This is an Exceptionally Rare check written on a short lived bank of Adolph Sutro's in Dayton, Nevada Territory. It is signed by Hugo Sutro. The check is for $50.00, payable to Philippson Mansfield. Hugo Sutro was Adolph's brother and was an agent for the bank. So little is known of the bank that the dateline of Austin, NV has an unknown relationship to the Sutro family. A few blank printed checks on Sutro's bank are known to exist but are Extremely Rare. This is the only issued piece of which we are aware. $250. Sold
532. Comstock Lode It's Character, And The Probable Mode Of Its Continuance In Depth, San Francisco, CA 22-Nov 1865
Adolph Sutro Item By Ferdinand Baron Richthofen, Dr. Phil. San Francisco; Published by the Sutro Tunnel Company. Towne and Bacon, Printers. 1866. This is an exceptionally rare Comstock reference work discussing perhaps the most important question posed regarding the famous rich Comstock ores. “Will they last at depth?” Richtofen addresses this sensitive issue virtually years before the science of mining geology understood the zoning of ore deposits, hydrothermal alteration, and other geochemical and physical characteristics necessary to answer such complicated questions. No photograph. $1,150
For additional Adolph Sutro items, please see our Nevada Section
533. San Francisco. Banking House of Tallant & Company Promissory Note, San Francisco, CA 9-Sep 1864
Promise to pay L. W. Kennedy $257.00 with interest, signed by Frank G. Edward. Stamped PAID, cancelled. This banking form for Tallant & Company is exceptionally rare and is possibly R8 (1 to 3 known). Fine. $150.
534. San Francisco. Receipt for Goods Shipped Via Steamer in 1861, San Francisco, CA 18-Sep 1861
Receipt for goods sent from San Francisco to Sacramento City. Sent from merchant F. B. Taylor & Co. of San Francisco to H & K (Hardy & Kennedy) of Forrest Hill. The receipt shows that the goods were sent on board a steamer to Sacramento City, then transferred to the Sacramento Valley Rail Road destined for Forrest Hill. Shipment contained five cases of L oil (?) and fresh hill cane of SVRR. Extremely Rare. $150.
535. San Francisco. John Taylor & Co. (Assayer and Chemical Sales) Receipts & Letter San Francisco, CA 19-Oct 1885
This is a set of three receipts for supplies purchased for Palmer & Day in Gold Hill and Allen Curtis, and a letter to Keystone Consolidated confirming stock. The receipts date from June of 1868 through October of 1885, while the letter is dated May 13th, 1903. John Taylor came to the California Gold Rush from England and was an early gold rush metals dealer. He parlayed the metals business into a chemical and assay supply house, which was inherited by his son, who bears the same name. It is thought that the senior Taylor was the son of a well known British assayer, who may have come to California in the early 1850’s to work for companies associated with British funding for parts of the Mariposa estate. All are Very Fine. Four pieces. $150.
536. San Francisco. R. H. Taylor Lithograph Proof Scrip, San Francisco, CA 1849
Extremely rare lithograph proof printed on heavy proofing paper, Imprint of “T.Wood. N.Y.” Proof is in Very Fine condition with marks on the back where the piece may have been adhered into a file or printers proof book.
Taylor & Co. were 1849 early California Gold Rush commission merchants who acted in part as bankers buying and selling exchanges and gold dust, much the same as Page, Bacon & Co. and Palmer, Cook & Co. According to Ira Cross, they also loaned money, thus placing them into the banking category. Not much is known of the firm, which may not have lasted past the end of 1849.
This piece is an R8, probably Unique and was unknown prior to publication in the Ford sale. “Upper California” at top center. Datelined San Francisco, the piece has “50” printed vertically at the left margin and a “5” at the upper right margin. At lower right are the words “three, fifty and five”. The piece is printed by T.Wood, New York. Lines for the signatures of the President and Cashier are present along the bottom.
This clearly is a design proof for scrip that Taylor & Co. intended to issue for 50 cents in 1849. The piece is the product of an engraved plate. As a Unique proof from the 1849 period it will undoubtedly be collected alongside the great 1849 California pioneer gold patterns. This is the only surviving remnant of Taylor & Co. known to us. From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection. $7,500.
537. San Francisco. U.S.S. Tennessee Steamship Letter Regarding Gold Shipment, San Francisco, CA 15-Nov 1850
This letter details multiple gold shipments sent to Ludlow BeeBee and Company in Philadelphia from their agent in San Francisco. The letter describes a major gold shipment sent “by last steamer” that contained five boxes of gold dust with a substantial value apparently in excess of $10,000. The letter also contains a detailed inventory of a shipment on this steamer of gold dust that includes a number of parcels going to different people, each identified. The four-page letter continues to detail other shipments and requests the Mint returns of gold dust submitted in July 1850. This steamer did not sail many more trips; it sank July 21st, 1851. This letter is particularly unusual because of the large amount of gold described in the shipment. Generally, the condition is Fine plus. $4,500.
538. San Francisco. Office of the Assistant Treasurer of the United States Original Exchange, San Francisco, CA 9-Oct 1869
U.S. Treasury receipt No. 575 for $15.00 from San Francisco for a patent application submitted by B.F. Jackson. Printed by Bacon & Company, San Francisco, in the style of exchange. Signed C.J. Felton, Assistant Treasurer of the U.S. in San Francisco. There is an oval cancellation from patent office on reverse. $100.
Wass, Molitor & Co.
539. San Francisco. Wass, Molitor & Co., San Francisco, CA 8-Dec 1852
Memorandum of Gold Dust Deposited by Mr. A. M. Rosborough. Unlike most other bullion deposit or assay receipts we have seen this very early and incredibly rare Wass, Molitor is not numbered, although there is a space provided for a “No.” on the preprinted receipt. The receipt measures 7 ¾ x 6 ¼” and is printed in black ink on light blue paper. Weight before melting 9 oz, 10 dwt. After melting 8oz, 18 dwt. Loss in melting 12 dwt. Fineness .757, Value per oz $15.524, Full value $138.16, Fees $5.00. Rosborough is not listed in Bancroft.
M. Rosborough was a ‘49er, who went to California with the Tennessee Mining Company, from Nashville, as superintendent. The company may have mined in the northern regions. He moved northward in the late 1850’s, becoming an Indian Agent and later judge in Yreka by 1859 and later still in Shasta County. He is thought to be the man who named Crescent City, according to his son.
Another interesting item of note is that this memorandum or receipt, like many of its early contemporaries, was for “Gold Dust.” In today’s world most of us would probably associate gold dust with an image in our minds eye of very fine pinhead sized particles of gold . . . almost too small or too insignificant for comment. However, the words “gold dust ” had a much different meaning to the miners, assayers, and ordinary citizens of Gold Rush California during the 1850’s. An 1861 reference stated the definition plainly: “Gold Dust. Placer gold is usually called gold dust; but the word dust, without explanation, conveys an erroneous idea. Gold dust is not a fine powder, but ordinarily consists of pieces larger than a pin-head, very often with lumps varying from a pennyweight to an ounce; and even if the lumps weigh ounces or pounds, it is none the less gold dust.” [Ref: Hittell, J: Mining in the Pacific States of North America, 1861, pg 44 (Book cover as: Bancroft’s Hand-Book of Mining for the Pacific States)].
This is the only Wass, Molitor “Memorandum of Gold Dust or bullion/assay receipt known to us in thirty years of dealing with the rarest of rare gold rush receipts and document. At the very least it is an R8 rarity and the likelihood of it being Unique has a very high probably. Wass, Molitor & Company were prominent early California coiners and assayers.
There should be no doubt among collectors that the remarkably well-preserved 1852 gold dust receipt offered here is an item of historical importance that will be a highlight of any collection. Its overall condition is Fine, having typical “pocket” folds and some minor foxing and a few very small light colored spots. There is also some soiling on the reverse probably due to being carried by Mr. Rosborough in one of his pockets or wallet. The receipt is signed Wass, Molitor & Co. From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection. R9 and possibly Unique. $17,500.
540. 1852 Wass, Molitor & Co., $10 Gold Coin, PCGS AU55, San Francisco, CA
Samuel C. Wass and Agoston P. Molitor emigrated from their native Hungary to the United States and arrived separately in San Francisco in late 1850 and early 1851 respectively. Both men “acquired a through and practical knowledge of mining and all its ramifications in the celebrated School of Mines of Germany, having perfected that knowledge by working in the gold mines of their own native lands for many years.”[22] As graduates of Freiberg, they were among the elite of the early California assayers and coiners.
The October 14, 1851 issue of the San Francisco newspaper Alta California ran an advertisement for Wass, Molitor & Co., which proclaimed them as “Mining Engineers, assayers, smelters, refiners, etc. of gold and silver. Quartz and ore of every description assayed. Metaliferous veins examined. Orders for mining plans promptly executed.” About this same time Californians were agonizing over the severe shortage of circulating coin they were experiencing. Banks, merchants, miners and citizens alike were having difficult times conducting business and paying for goods and services. Making change for their transactions was nearly impossible because of a lack of circulating United States coin.
Additionally, “as early as April 1851, great inconvenience was experienced in the financial community of San Francisco. No private mints were operating and the United States Assay Office was issuing only the cumbersome $50 slugs.”[23] Apparently the lack of small denomination coins and the confounding factors caused by “too many” USAO $50 gold slugs that were in circulation between 1851 and 1854 was so significant that historian John S. Hittell wrote about it years later. “Previous to ’53, there was such a lack of coin, that a large proportion of the private coin was in fifty dollar pieces called “slugs” or “adobes.”[24]
In response to the over abundance of $50 slugs and the extreme shortage of smaller denomination coinage, a few San Francisco assaying firms took steps to fill the void taking their businesses to the next level by setting up shop as private coiners. “The very serious inconveniences to which the people of California have been subjected through the want of a mint, and the stream of unwieldy slugs that have been issued from the United States Assay Office have imperatively called for an increase of small coin. The well known and highly respectable firm Wass, Molitor & Co. has come forward in this emergency.”[25]
Between 1852 and 1855 Wass, Molitor & Co. struck and issued both $5 and $10 gold pieces. Interestingly, three years later, in 1855 the company also struck and circulated $20 and $50 gold pieces as the coinage shortages and demands of the times had changed dramatically. By 1861 “slugs as well as most other private coins, have disappeared from circulation, and are almost as great curiosities in California as elsewhere.”[26]
Extremely Rare, AU55. $27,500
Watkins, Carlton Photographs.
Please see the entry in Carson City Mint section for a group of Watkin’s photographs contained in a Carson City Mint shell case.
541. San Francisco. Wells, Fargo & Co. Express and Banking Office Second of Exchange, San Francisco, CA 12-Apr 1864
A second exchange check No. 2165.501 for $450.55 signed Wells Fargo issued to Israel Ferguson. The exchange has two original adhesive revenue stamps both with W.F. & Co. oval cancellations from 1864. There is a Federal .02 cent blue express stamp at upper left, and a red California second of exchange $1 stamp at lower left. A rubber stamp at right indicates the exchange was paid in currency. Repair at upper right. $250. Sold
542. Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express Gold & Silver Bullion Shipping Charges, San Francisco, CA 18-Feb 1879
A notice of a tariff placed on bullion shipped via Wells, Fargo & Co. using the Union Pacific Railroad Co.'s Express from Ogden to Omaha. Very Fine. $150.
543. Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express Consignee Receipt, San Francisco, CA 17-Sep 1885
This is a receipt for charges on two bars of bullion sent from the San Bernardino County desert mining camp of Daggett, California to San Francisco via Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Express. Daggett’s namesake, John Daggett, was Lieutenant Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. He not only put the town on the map, literally, but also built the very first house in Daggett, which eventually became the terminus for three short ore-hauling railroads on the Santa Fe main line. It was a very important place, not because it was a gold town, but because it was a supply point for numerous mines in the Calico Hills and surrounding region. At its peak in 1885, a five stamp custom mill for gold and silver was in operation in the town of Daggett. [Ref: Gudde, California Gold Camps] Not Signed. Very Fine. $150.
544. San Francisco. John D. Wing & Co. Advertisement, San Francisco, CA c 1859
A four page printed letter sheet, advertising Saleratus, Super Carbonate Soda, Cream Tartar, & Soap Powder for Golden Gate Saleratus, by John D. Wing & Co. Items for sale in lots to suit by Goodwin & Co. Subsequent pages discuss these products in detail. This is a rare gold rush advertising piece, probably R8 with less than three known. Fine condition. $750.
End San Francisco
545. San Jose. Gambling Complaint, San Jose, CA c 1852
A complaint of playing cards at night in San Jose with a bet of $48.00 and Plaintiff, Mayor Levy claims defendant Adolph Helm cheated Levy of the money. Watermark paper, one page of four used, reverse of second page shows adherence to an album. Otherwise Very Fine. $600.
546. San Juan. Block & Furth Bankers Business Card, North San Juan, CA 11-Apr 1860
This is a business card size purchase receipt for gold dust purchased. It is from another little known northern Mother Lode region gold dust dealer and banker. The receipt is datelined North San Juan, April 1860. “Bought of (?)” 19 oz, 10 dwt, at $18.75 for an amount totaling $366.12. It is from Block & Furth Bankers. It may be the only card of its type extant. North San Juan was an important mining camp near Nevada City and Grass Valley. Possibly Unique. Extremely Fine. $600.
547. San Louis Obispo. U.S. Treasury Department 2nd Auditor's Office Note, San Louis Obispo, CA 16-Feb 1869
A Note, No.514751, from E.B. Lursh, Treasurer's Office regarding $103.99 paycheck for deceased (certificate) sent to family after death of Frederick Prieto, a late Colonel, 20th Regiment of U.S. Infantry. This Colonel was killed in the line of duty in January 1868. $450.
548. Shasta. Group of early Gold Rush Checks from Shasta, c 1852-1855
These three different checks from the Gold Rush Camp of Shasta are: 1) 1852, Sacramento City Bank, Shasta City Branch, Rhodes, Purdy & McNulty agents; 1853, same bank and branch, J. M. Rhodes, agent; 1855, Rhodes & Co. Bankers, signed by James Loag at Shasta. $550.
549. Shasta. Bell Brothers’ Business Card, Shasta, CA c 1875
The Bell Brothers were assayers. This business card is one of the few remaining pieces from one of the many assay offices located at Shasta, a one time contender for the California state capital and central point for the northern gold region. Fine. $400. Sold
550. Shasta. Wells, Fargo & Co's Express Forwarding Receipt, Shasta, CA 15-Mar 1881
Document shows it was received by Frank Litsch - Bag of gold dust valued at $475.00 Signed by Hopping & Dobrowsky. Fine. $150. Sold
551. Wells, Fargo & Co's Express Forwarding Receipt, Shasta, CA 1-Jul 1881
Received by Frank Litsch - Bag of gold dust valued at $525.00 Signed by Hopping & Dobrowsky. Chip to lower edge. Otherwise it is Extremely Fine. $125.
552. Sonoma County. Clearing House Certificates:
Certificates such as these were mostly issued during the bank panic of 1907 according to Cross in Financing an Empire. Many banks were “hard-pressed for ready money” and issued certificates in denominations of $1, 2, 5,10, and $20. They were reportedly secured by commercial paper deposited by member banks. Cross reported $3.5 million issued in California Clearinghouse scrip during the 1907 panic.
Curiously, the Sonoma County Clearinghouse was not listed by Cross in his list of 27 different California Clearinghouses. The following Sonoma County notes are Extremely Rare.
553. Sonoma County Clearing House Certificate, Santa Rosa, CA 6-Nov 1907
No. D Certificate printed on light orange paper with orange safety print and $1 under print, certificate states, “Securities having been deposited with the Clearing House Committee of the Associated Banks of Sonoma County, Cal., this certificate will be accepted by the said Banks for the sum named.” $1.00 Cancelled signature. Graded by PMG Choice About Unc #58. $1,500.
554. Sonoma County Clearing House Certificate, Santa Rosa, CA 6-Nov 1907
No.D Certificates printed on light orange paper with orange safety print and $1 under print, certificate states, “Securities having been deposited with the Clearing House Committee of the Associated Banks of Sonoma County, Cal., this certificate will be accepted by the said Banks for the sum named.” $1.00 Cancelled signature. Graded by PMG Gem Uncirculated #65. $3,000.
555. Springfield. Banking Office of T.M. Whiteside, Springfield, CA c 1860
This bank is not listed by Ira Cross. Springfield was a small mining camp on Mormon Creek southwest of Columbia in Tuolumne County. In 1854 a three pound chunk of quartz was found there that contained one pound of pure gold. The camp was booming in the mid 1850's with six hundred voters. The Post Office was established in 1857 and discontinued in 1868. None of these receipts are known to have been issued. They were printed by Towne & Bacon Printers of San Francisco. A small group of these surfaced thirty or forty years ago and have since been absorbed by collectors. We believe them to be about an R6, approximately twenty known. $100.
556. Stockton. Stockton, Wm. B. 20-May 1849
This is a hand written receipt for 86 oz from Mical White to Stockton, who was an early resident of California. He is not, however, the namesake of Stockton, California who was Commodore Stockton. This is a classic and very rare ‘49er receipt for gold. $2,500.
557. Sullivan’s Camp. Gold Rush Letter, Sullivan's Camp (near San Joaquin River) CA 4-Jul 1849
This four page manuscript letter has an early San Francisco cancel and is written by Samuel Young to Samuel Nicoll detailing his journey to the California gold fields. The writer left New York on February 7, 1849 and arrived June 11th, 1849 at a cost of approximately $700. He describes in detail the prices for food, business, lodging etc., as well as the current wages and how much a gold miner actually earns for his hard labor. He goes on to describe buildings in great detail and the reader gets a very accurate feel for this way of life. Eventually, Young decided to go to the San Joaquin placer mines, which he discusses at length, even though he did not find much gold “larger than a pinhead.” He writes, “It is the hardest possible labor . . . Gambling and drunkenness predominate.” Letters dating from the early part of the Gold Rush, particularly 1848 and 1849, are Extremely Rare and those with meaningful content as contained herein are all the more rare. Fine. $3,500.
558. Sutter’s Mill. James W. Marshall Autograph Card, Sutter’s Mill, CA 1848
Autograph Card of James W. Marshall “The Discoverer of Gold in California”. This autograph card is about 3 x 5” and contains James W. Marshall's autograph, and has a vignette of Sutter's Mill at the upper left and the date January 19, 1848 at the lower right. This card is one of perhaps ten to fifteen such cards known in western collections today. They were sold by Marshall to raise money towards the end of his life. A number of these cards that survive have serious condition problems and this card is the finest that we have ever seen or handled by far. It is sharp, clear and clean with only the slightest bit of foxing in the lower left corner. The vignette is a wood block print of Sutter's Mill that has become famous through time. It has been used on many products relating to the California Gold Rush including such rarities as the Chalmer's Catawba wine bitters bottle of the 1870's. $5,000. Sold
559. Tahoe. Baldwin's House at Tahoe Photograph, Lake Tahoe, CA c 1885
Here is an original cabinet card of the Baldwin Mansion at Tahoe taken by Truckee Photographer, H.K. Gage. Gage had an office near the intersection of Bridge and Church Streets in Truckee. Gage's photographs of the Tahoe and Truckee basins are an exceptionally important remnant of the region’s history. The photograph is extremely fine, but there is a flash of light at the far left side that partially obscures one tree. This is an outstanding photograph. $400.
560. Tahoe. Tahoe Silver Mining Company Check, Lake Tahoe, CA 31-Mar 1876
Check No. 1 for the Tahoe Silver Mining Company is in the amount of $192.50 payable to F.E. Luty, Secretary, signed by F.E. Luty and George Benson, President. This is the first document we've seen with this specific company name. It is not listed in Raymond or Burchard and was probably short lived. It could represent one of several properties. The first area of silver and gold prospects at or near Tahoe was close to the intersection of Squaw Valley and the Truckee River. This area was prospected heavily in 1863 and a mining camp existed there for a brief period. Other prospects are found along the northeast rim and can be seen today along segments of the Tahoe Rim Trail. Most of these prospects, however, particularly from Spooner Summit southward are copper-gold-silver prospects, not just silver. A third possibility is that the name Tahoe was used for a mine at one of the many silver districts in eastern California or western Nevada. Extremely Fine except for having a tiny chip at the lower left. $175. Sold
561. Todd’s Valley. Hall & Allen, Bankers, Gold Dust Receipt, Todd's Valley, CA 1867
Gold dust receipt for gold purchased by J.M. Miner, an agent for Hall and Allen Bankers at Todd's Valley. Hall and Allen also had bank branches at Auburn and Dutch Flat as noted on the certificate. Todd's Valley was named for F.W. Todd, a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, who opened a store there in 1849. The U.S. Post office there opened in the mid 1850’s, and the area remained a rich gold producer through at least the 1880’s, having produced millions of dollars in gold. This receipt is for 27 plus ounces of gold. Fine with rubber band stains on reverse. $300.
562. Weaverville. Rare F. W. Blake Gold Rush Document, Weaverville, CA 1855
The check was drawn on the Express & Banking Office of Rhodes & Co. at their Weaverville office, June 11, 1855. This check for $2936.50 was made out to the Exchange Account for the Bank’s office in Shasta, California, signed by F. W. Blake as agent for Rhodes & Co. Blake was the agent for Rhodes in Weaverville beginning in 1852. Very little survives today from this remote important gold mining camp located in the middle of the Trinity gold region in far northern California. Weaverville was the business center for the all the Trinity River region. The entire northern gold region’s business center was Shasta. From there, all business matters went south, either to Marysville or Sacramento. This is the only piece we have seen from Blake’s involvement in Weaverville. Please see the Unionville, Nevada section of this catalog for a lengthy story on Blake and his ingots. $750.