SIXTEEN MONTHS AT THE GOLD DIGGINGS

1851 · New York

by (CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH). WOODS, DANIEL B.

New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1851. FIRST EDITION. 194 x 120 mm. (7 5/8 x 4 5/8"). viii, [9]-199, [1] pp., 6, [2] pp. (ads).
Publisher's brown blind-stamped cloth, smooth spine with gilt lettering. Front pastedown with the book label of Thomas Streeter (T. W. S.); front free endpaper with lightly pencilled bibliographical notes. Kurutz 696A; Wheat, "Books of the Gold Rush" 235; Cowan, p. 252; Zamorano 80, #80; Graff 4741; Howes W-651; Sabin 105123; Streeter Sale V, 2696. Spine evenly (and inevitably) faded, extremities just a little rubbed, a hint of browning in margins due to paper quality, half a dozen openings with offsetting from (truncated) (long-removed) pressed botanical specimens, otherwise only trivial imperfections. Quite an excellent copy, clean and fresh, in a well-preserved binding with (atypically) unworn joints and undamaged hinges.

With outstanding provenance and in excellent condition, this is of one of the best and earliest firsthand accounts of California's Gold Rush via the Mexican route, capturing the harsh realities, wild optimism, and untamed landscapes of that fevered scramble for fortune in the mid-19th century. According to Streeter, it "has the freshness which comes from a narrative written almost contemporaneously with the events it relates. It is one of the best for that exciting period." Our author, Daniel B. Woods, left his life as a minister in Philadelphia and set sail for Tampico, Mexico in February 1849, arriving in San Francisco by way of San Blas in June of that year. The narrative largely takes place between June 1849 and November 1850, both in the "Northern Mines" around the American River, and the "Southern Mines" around the Toulumne and Stanislaus Rivers. In his preface to the work, Woods tells us that he intended to "make this volume a miner's manual, in which [the reader] may find important directions relating to the various mining operations," but he also warns would-be prospectors of the difficult realities of pursuing a life in the mines, imploring those "who are doing well enough, who are living within their means and laying by a little, to remain satisfied at home." Woods' vivid descriptions of the scenery and anecdotes about daily life--including details such as the fluctuating price of goods, average wages, and ubiquitous vices--make this an indispensable narrative for collectors of Americana, Gold Rush history, and early Western exploration. Cowan says that the "work is a valuable contribution to the history of mining camps and communities, and the laws and regulations adopted by them for the protection of claims and property," and Wheat describes the text as containing "illuminating word pictures of the sweat and toil of mining life." This copy is especially desirable for its association with Thomas W. Streeter (1883-1965), the renowned bibliophile who put together one of the finest collections of Americana ever assembled. The sale of his library between 1966-69 brought in $3.1 million--a record-breaking high for a U.S. book auction at the time. Our copy was listed as no. 2696 in that sale, and contains what is, presumably, Streeter's own handwriting on the front free endpaper, noting that "This is one of the California books H. R. W. suggested in 1929 that I add to my California collection." The "H. R. W." referred to here must be the eminent collector, bibliographer, and historian Henry R. Wagner, who specialized in the American frontier and colonial Mexico.. (Inventory #: ST20191)

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