NACH DEM SACRAMENTO: Reisebilder eines Heimgekehrten
Aarau: Druck und Verlag von H.R. Sauerlander, 1855. First Edition. Wraps. Octavo: [iv], 365, [1] p. (p.230-1 misnumbered 330-1). Original pink paper wrappers, with engraved illlustrations on both panels. Occasional mild foxing to the contents. The wrappers are a bit soiled, with tiny nicks to the corners and tips; otherwise very good.
"Born in Germany, Meyer left for New Orleans in February 1849, bound for the Isthmus of Panama. On the Pacific side, he boarded the three-masted ship Sarah Elisha and after a difficult voyage, arrived in Monterey in the spring. Henry Wagner speculates that some inconsistencies and errors indicate that Meyer wrote this book based on his memory rather than a journal. Nontheless, he must be credited with providing some of the strongest 'word pictures' of the Gold Rush. His summaries of the last vestiges of Mexican California are all choice. His descriptions encompass a Mexican caravan on its way to the Mariposa diggings, geology of the region, gold mining camps, San Francisco, Indians (the 'Allequas' tribe in particular), river steamers, and bull and bear fights in Sacramento. 'Having witnessed the birth and social forming of the gold country,' Meyer left home via Nicaragua in 1852. The lithographic pictorial wrappers depict scenes of Sutter's Fort, Sutter's Mill, miners, Indians, Californios, Chagres, Panama, and Havana" (Gary F. Kurutz, The California Gold Rush, #439a). Very good. Item #75444
Price: $600.00