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California State Library - . Kurutz, Curator of Special Collections. Introduction. When James Wilson Marshall saw something golden shining in the tailrace at Sutter's Mill, he not only set off a worldwide rush to California but also touched off the greatest writing and artistic frenzy in our nation's history. Newspapers, guidebooks, government reports, sermons, diaries, and letters written home all spread the word about a land where golden dreams could be realized. Artists through sketches, paintings, prints, pictorial letter sheets, birds- eye views, and illustrations for books likewise gave visual meaning to this new El Dorado. Nineteen ninety- eight commemorates the discovery of a precious mineral, but as historian John Walton Caughey so eloquently noted in 1. It is only appropriate that the California State Library should create this exhibit since the institution itself got its start during the height of the Gold Rush.
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Many libraries and archives across the country from Yale University to the Henry E. Huntington Library preserve formidable collections of Gold Rush material, but the State Library's direct relationship to Marshall's earthshaking discovery gives it a unique role in this sesquicentennial year. Without the mad scramble to our golden shore, California would not have been admitted into the Union so quickly and the institution of the State Library would not have come into being as it is presently constituted. In creating this exhibit, the varieties and richness of the material proved to be both a joy and challenge. Literally, I scrutinized hundreds of items and explored various themes.
Unavoidably, because of space limitations, many choice documents and topics were grudgingly set aside. It is no accident that so much documentation exists about the run for gold. In fact, it could be argued that the California Gold Rush stands as the best documented event in our state's history.
There are many reasons for this. Most importantly, though, the Gold Rush took place when people commonly kept diaries and wrote detailed letters.
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Fortunately for us, many Argonauts possessed exceptional powers of description, the ability to express philosophical thoughts, and the gift to record what they saw with drama, emotion, and on occasion with humor. Because the Gold Rush represented the adventure of a lifetime, participants, through letters and diaries, eagerly shared their experiences with friends and relatives and made sure that their writings would be preserved for future generations. Scores of Gold Rush manuscript collections holding thousands of letters were examined. Included are such treasures as Marshall's own map showing where he discovered gold, pioneer preacher Joseph A. Benton's journals of his voyage to California and his first years in Sacramento looking for souls instead of gold, and letters to his mother by Sacramento's first historian, Dr.
Letters by those less well known, however, vividly tell us of the travel to California by land and sea and then the cold reality of the diggings and its hardships, loneliness, lawlessness, and disappointments. Printed books, pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers, of course, form a major component of any Gold Rush exhibition.
These printed sources, more than any single medium, spread the news and influenced would- be gold seekers. An array of rare guidebooks, foreign language works, and printed pamphlets issued by mining companies supplement these seminal publications. The very first issue of the Panama Star, an American newspaper printed in Panama, records the importance of that narrow isthmus as a link between the United States and its new mineral- rich territory. The gold discovery and its immediate aftermath took place when the visual means of mass communication was making great strides. Lithographs and wood engravings gave visual credence to the incredible news that poured out of California. Artists were not immune to gold fever and some real talent came to California first to hunt for gold, and then finding this to be hard and unproductive work, turned back to their god- given natural abilities.
Charles Christian Nahl, Harrison Eastman, John David Borthwick, and George Holbrook Baker, to name just a few, produced memorable images that publishers even to this day reproduce over and over. The result of all of this made the Gold Rush one of the first important episodes in our history recorded visually and systematically by its participants. Consequently, pencil sketches, pictorial letter sheets, illustrations found in books and newspapers, and birds- eye views of cities and towns form an essential component of this display. One other form of visual documentation emerged, photography namely in the form of the daguerreotype. The Gold Rush represented the first important event in our nation's past to be captured by photography.
Those one- of- a- kind, silvery, mirror- like images held together in beautiful, protective leather cases provide a breathtaking, crystal clear view of life during that rambunctious era. Certainly a highlight of California As We Saw It are the exquisite open air daguerreotypes of mining operations near Georgetown and Nevada City attributed to J. Starkweather. Daguerrian portraits of men and women put a human face on that golden era. Last, we have supplemented the above objects with what rare book and history librarians call ephemera, items that were meant to last only a moment. Judiciously placed throughout the display are wonderful examples of Gold Rush sheet music, stock certificates, broadsides, printed receipts for gold bullion, illustrated postal covers, and a rare clipper card (advertising a voyage to California). These transitory items, held and read by the gold hunters, give as much meaning to the display as rare books and manuscripts. The title of J. Holliday's brilliant book, The World Rushed In, provided inspiration for two exhibit cases.
One case is devoted to accounts and guidebooks published in England, France, Australia, and Germany. Another features the experiences of women, African Americans, and Chinese.
One remarkable manuscript consists of a bill of sale whereby a slave imported by his Southern master to hunt for gold buys his freedom for $1,0. Within a couple years after the discovery, miners extracted gold from the earth by working in teams and then by forming companies.
Turning rivers with dams, delivering water by flumes to wash away the hillsides in search of gold, and setting up stamp mills to crush the ore was not a simple, individual endeavor. A selection of beautifully engraved early stock certificates provides visual evidence of the financing needed to work the mines. The need to supply the mines gave rise to instant cities and mining camps.
While San Francisco emerged as El Dorado's most important port and city, Sacramento also experienced unbelievable growth. On display are a sampling of books, letters, sketches documenting Sacramento's transformation from the citadel of Captain Sutter's New Helvetia empire to a vital entrepot to the northern mines. Highlights include the first Sacramento directory by Horace Culver, a broadside proclamation concerning the formation of city government in 1. George Holbrook Baker. Not all was seriousness when it came to looking for gold.
The gold mania spawned a series of satirical prints and books by the likes of Alfred Crowquill, Jeremiah Saddlebags, and Old Block. A centerpiece is a beautiful hand- colored lithograph entitled the . A rare series of hand- colored lithographs by two Cuban artists gives a light- hearted look at a group of miners who evidently had made their pile and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Her skill in preserving and preparing materials for display earns my constant gratitude and admiration. To coin an appropriate phrase, she has a golden touch. The following describes the one hundred plus items that comprise the display. Since most of readers cannot visit the Library's gallery, it is hoped that this compilation will provide a sense of the display and a permanent record of a truly remarkable grouping of primary source material.
As demonstrated by this exhibit, James Marshall's discovery produced not only treasure in the form of yellow metal but also the foundation for the Library's great California history collection. The Great Discovery.
James Wilson Marshall. Untitled manuscript map of the gold discovery site, a portion of the Coloma Valley, and location of Sutter's Mill.
No date. Despite its crude appearance, the map, according to Marshall's biographer Theressa Gay, was fairly accurate. Marshall apparently made the map sometime after the discovery but an exact date cannot be determined. John Sipp, who purchased the cabin at an administrator's sale, gave the map to the State Library in 1. Marshall. According to cartobibliographer Carl I. Wheat, Marshall's map ranks as one of the most important documents in the State Library's collections. Marshall wrote on the lower right side: . Marshall wrote the following caption: .
Sutter & James Wilson Marshall and the Yalesummi Tribe. February 4, 1. 84. Contemporary copy. This document was actually made on January 1 but not signed until February 4. With the discovery of gold, control of the valley became imperative to Sutter. The document was signed by two chiefs and two alcaldes of the Yalesummi tribe. As historian Theressa Gay notes: .
Mason, military governor of California, for his approval. Mason rejected the lease in a letter to Sutter: . Farm Frenzy 3 Ice Age Full Version Free Download Crack Corel. The copy in the State Library's possession is part of the George Mc. Kinstry Collection. Mc. Kinstry worked for Sutter at the fort in the 1. Sutter to Governor R. Mason. New Helvetia, February 2.
Written less than a month after Marshall's discovery, Sutter explains the expense of building and settling Coloma and the need to protect his property. Without mentioning gold, Sutter went on to write: . George Mc. Kinstry Collection. The letter sheet reproduces Sutter's text.
Sutter recalled: .
Events - theday. com - New London and southeastern Connecticut News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Video and Weather. Community. The General Stanton Inn and Flea Market, 4. Old Post Road, Charlestown, RI. MOTHERS, LIFE'S FIRST TREASURES, ARE GIVEN TO US AS GIFTS. ALL OTHER TREASURES MUST BE FOUNDCharlestown's General Stanton Inn Flea Market is now open Sundays for your treasure hunting.
Hunt for Mothers' Day Gifts: Antiques, Collectibles and Hand- Crafted Goods. The market is open on Sundays until Memorial Day Weekend, May 2.
Season schedule: Saturdays, Sundays and Holiday Mondays, through Columbus Day, October 9. Esl Adverbs Of Frequency Activities on this page. The Flea Market is open 8 a. A new addition at the General Stanton Inn Flea Market, this Season, is The Indoor Flea Market Cottage, selling fine antiques and more. The Indoor Flea Market Cottage is open during all the weekend hours of The Flea Market, and is also open weekdays by appointment: show contact info A variety of credit cards are accepted at this new market- within- the- market.
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