1851 – Letter from a a pair of San Francisco commission merchants describing the expected effect of the catastrophic fire that destroyed three-quarters of the city

This one-page stampless folded letter measures 8” x 9”. It was sent by “Winter & Latimer to “Messers Fleming & Douglass” of “Alexandria, D.C.” and datelined “San Francisco 15th May 1851”. It bears a circular San Francisco “40” postmark dated 15 May.” The letter is in nice shape, however wear to the top margin affects the still readable dateline.

The letter reads in part:

“We have now the pleasure to report safe arrival of Barque ‘Hermitage’ with your Invoice of a case of liquor and segars . . . though fear she has arrived to a poor market. . .. We have been fortunate [to] escape the disastrous conflagration of 3d inst. since (truncated) which business has been very unsettled and prices for every thing irregular . . . with but few sales and we do not think this calamity can affect any possible improvement in the market while we have such large stocks in the harbor. As soon as your shipment Is landed we shall endeavor to take advantage of the present temporary excitement and run it off at fair prices. Segars are selling from $15 - $25 and the liquor af from $4 - $6.” . During the early years of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was struck by seven serious fires. The one that occurred during the night of 3-4 May 1851 was by far the worst. The fire, believed to be started by an arsonist, began in a paint and upholstery shop located above a hotel on Portsmouth Square. Strong winds drove the fire down Kearny Street and downtown where the wooden sidewalks increased the intensity of the blaze. The conflagration continued unchecked for ten hours until it reached the waterfront. By the time it was over, 18 city blocks had been destroyed and damages, almost all uninsured, approached $10 million (over half a billion dollars in today’s money). Among the destroyed properties was City Hall, the Jenny Lind theater, the whaleship Niantic (which had been moved ashore to serve as a hotel), a general store owned by Domenicio Ghiradelli (who would rebuild his firm into the famous chocolate company) and six of the seven city newspapers. One resident reported, “No conception can be formed of the grandeur of the scene, for at one time the burning district was coverd by one vast sheet of flame that extended half a mile in length,” a scene made famous by the illustrated letter sheet published by Justh, Quirot and Company.

Although addressed to the District of Columbia, when this letter was written, the city of Alexandria had already retroceded to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

(For more information see, “Early History of the San Francisco Fire Department” at the City of San Francisco Museum website and Marryat’s Mountain and Molehills (portions available online.)

Original first-hand accounts of the fire are scarce, far less common than the Justh-Quirot letter sheets. At the time of listing nothing similar is for sale in the trade. Neither has anything similar appeared at auction. OCLC reports only two first-hand accounts are held in institutions, a similar letter at the University of California at Berkeley and an entry in a ship’s logbook held by Harvard. . (Inventory #: 010365)