Beschreibung:

Title: The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52. Being a Series of Twenty-three Letters from Dame Shirley to her Sister in Massachusetts Author: Shirley, Dame [Clappe, Louise Amelia Knapp Smith] Place: San Francisco Publisher: Thomas C. Russell Date: 1922 Description: xlvii, [5], 350, [1] pp. With synopsis of the letters, foreword, etc., by Thomas C. Russell. Illustrated with black-and-white plates from old prints, with tissue. (8vo) original cloth-backed boards, paper spine label, green paper jacket, also with spine label. No. 389 of 200 numbered copies on Exeter book-paper from a total edition of 450. First Edition in book form. Signed in Thomas C. Russell's name on limitation page, as issued. Significant, first-hand impressions of Gold Rush California and the activities at the mines. As the Zamorano 80 describes it, "these valuable letters, first published in the old Pioneer magazine of San Francisco under the name of `Dame Shirley,' were written from the California mines by Mrs....Clappe to her sister in Massachusetts in 1851 & 1852. They were not published until 1854.... The letters were written from Rich Bar on the Feather River, where the author accompanied her husband, Dr. Fayette Clappe. They give an entirely different picture of the conditions at the mines from that ordinarily found in books written by miners and travelers of that day. Being a cultured woman's contemporary report of experiences in the gold rush, they are unique..." Howes calls the letters "a vivid and unexcelled picture of every-day life in the mines." Kurutz adds that "the Shirley Letters have received the highest possible praise. The importance of her letters was recognized early on and influenced the views and writings of Josiah Royce, Hubert Howe Bancroft, Bret Harte, and possibly, Samuel Clemens. Russell edited, amended, annotated, printed and published the work. Cowan p.837; Howes C427; Kurutz 133a; Zamorano 80 #69. Lot Amendments Condition: Just light wear; near fine. Item number: 280713