1887 · Los Angeles
by [California]
Los Angeles: December 25, 1887. About very good.. [7] leaves. Loose octavo sheets. Previously folded. Light soiling and wear. A lively Christmas letter, written from Los Angeles at the end of 1887 by a recent immigrant to California. Eli Mann seems to have come west from Wisconsin or New York for health reasons, and settled in Southern California for the effects of the climate. His letter paints a vivid portrait of the development of Los Angeles during this period. It reads, in part:
"I do wish you could see the orange groves now loaded with ripening fruit. These groves in the city are now being cut dow[n] and streets laid out & business blocks being built, when one year ago nothing but a beautiful grove of acres & acres of trees from 12 to 25ft high, 8 to 12in in diameter stood. The lodging house where I am stopping is fresh built right in such a grove. Two rows of trees cut away & the building stands between rows of trees bearing thousands of oranges along each side...."
He continues, describing the land situation in the growing city:
"The land is more valuable for business than for orchards. This lot 30 foot on street sold for 400 dollars per front foot, making 12,000 dollars for [the] lot. The real estate craze still continues & the town is full of strangers from every part of the country.- One year ago the po[p]ulation of this city was thought to be about 30 to 35 thousand & to day it is not less than 60 thousand...."
In the final two pages he turns to his health, saying, "I have improved in health every day since coming here & now feel better than for 15 years.- My old & torturing tro[u]ble Eczema has entirely disap[p]eared & I am for the first time in years free from suffering... I have great reason to feel greatful [sic] for coming here." A good letter from a new Angeleno, full of enthusiasm for the booming city of the late 1880s. (Inventory #: 4915)
"I do wish you could see the orange groves now loaded with ripening fruit. These groves in the city are now being cut dow[n] and streets laid out & business blocks being built, when one year ago nothing but a beautiful grove of acres & acres of trees from 12 to 25ft high, 8 to 12in in diameter stood. The lodging house where I am stopping is fresh built right in such a grove. Two rows of trees cut away & the building stands between rows of trees bearing thousands of oranges along each side...."
He continues, describing the land situation in the growing city:
"The land is more valuable for business than for orchards. This lot 30 foot on street sold for 400 dollars per front foot, making 12,000 dollars for [the] lot. The real estate craze still continues & the town is full of strangers from every part of the country.- One year ago the po[p]ulation of this city was thought to be about 30 to 35 thousand & to day it is not less than 60 thousand...."
In the final two pages he turns to his health, saying, "I have improved in health every day since coming here & now feel better than for 15 years.- My old & torturing tro[u]ble Eczema has entirely disap[p]eared & I am for the first time in years free from suffering... I have great reason to feel greatful [sic] for coming here." A good letter from a new Angeleno, full of enthusiasm for the booming city of the late 1880s. (Inventory #: 4915)