Beschreibung:

Title: The Colonial History of the City of San Francisco: Being a Narrative Argument in the Circuit Court of the United States for the State of California, for Four Square Leagues of Land Claimed by that City and Confirmed to It By That Court Author: Dwinelle, John W. Place: San Francisco Publisher: Towne & Bacon Date: 1867 Description: xlv, [1], 106, 365, [1], 363*-369*, [2], 368-391 pp. Three lithograph plate including frontispiece, 3 maps including a single page, a double page with hand-coloring, and a large folding map backed with linen, tipped-in at rear pastedown. (8vo), half green morocco and marbled boards, gilt-lettered spine. Fourth Edition. Fourth edition, with the 2 errata slips preceding pp. xlv and 365, but lacking the "Address." Following the Land Act of 1851, the city of San Francisco, the successor to the pueblo of Yerba Buena, filed a claim for four leagues of pueblo or town lands. The United States contended that the pueblo of San Francisco never existed, which would have invalidated the city's claim for thousands of acres. Dwinelle, the city's special counsel, successfully argued against the federal government in both the district and circuit courts, and in so doing amassed a mountain of documentary evidence on the history of San Francisco during the Spanish and Mexican periods. Cowan notes that most of the documents supporting Dwinelle's argument "are now either inaccessible or destroyed." Additional material was added to later editions as the case moved from trial to appeal. Cowan (I), p.75-6; Howes D614. Lot Amendments Condition: Light extremity wear; bookplate; large folding map at rear lightly foxed; very good. Item number: 219360