Item #9315 The Shirley Letters From California Mines 1851-1852. Mrs. Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe, Dame Shirley.
The Shirley Letters From California Mines 1851-1852

The Shirley Letters From California Mines 1851-1852

San Francisco: Thomas C. Russell, 1922. First Edition thus; Edition Limited to 450 copies (this one is #105 of the first 200 copies on Exeter book-paper), SIGNED by the printer. 8vo. (l) 350pp. 8 full-page hand colored plates (including frontispiece) with tissue guards; decorative chapter headings, endings and initials in blue. Original tan linen spine over blue-grey boards; printed paper spine label in blue-grey dustjacket with gilt lettering and decoration. Fine in dustjacket (faint initials inked to lower spine label). Item #9315

Originally published in the Pioneer Press Magazine of 1854-55 under the pseudonym Dame Shirley, "these letters present a vivid and unexcelled picture of every-day life in the mines." - Howes. "These superlatively readable and informative letters may well be accorded first place in any gathering of notable Gold Rush Literature." - Wheat. "Her letters rightly receive such high acclaim not only for featuring a woman's viewpoint but also for recording in beautifully crafted language a realistic picture of life in the mines." - Kurutz, Sloan Z80:69. (Graff 727; Howes C427; Kurutz 133b; Zamorano Eighty #69).

Price: $950.00