Colton, Walter — Three Years in California

New York, A.S. Barnes & Burr, 1860. Later printing. Hardcover. Size: 12mo 7" - 7. Sturdy, attractive, tightly bound hardcover, rebound in blue buckram cloth with gilt titles and ruling to spine, new endpapers, virtually no rubbing to extremities, somewhat grubby-looking title page, moderate toning to interior, tissue guards present for the five black-and-white engravings post-title page, some being tattered and toned. Absent is the frontis engraving of John A. Sutter of previous editions. Short closed tear verso of title page, dog-eared title-page. Ink marks to p. 334. A perfectly serviceable reference copy; nothing fancy, but complete and sturdy. Later printing of the 1850 original, true First Edition, as published by S.A. Rollo & Company. Fine account of Gold Rush California and Native American struggles against colonizers, of early San Francisco and Sacramento, with a racy narrative pace. The author, Walter Colton, was a Chaplain in the U.S. Navy but also something of a gentleman historian. He here describes living in California at the end of the 1840s, just prior to the first Gold Rushes. It's got it all--or if not all, at least it's got mountain fires, encounters with Native Americans, bear hunts, the Gold Rush, and urban development and its according sins. Frontispiece in black-and-white of John A. Sutter and a dozen fine engraved plates, some being full-page. 456 pp. Walter Colton writes of his role in California’s history prior to statehood including as a prison warder in Monterey. This journal begins on July 10, 1846, when the U.S. flag was raised over Monterey and San Francisco. A few weeks later, on July 28, Colton was appointed alcalde. Colton found time also to publish the area’s first newspaper, The Californian, which announced the declaration of war with Mexico among other happenings.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. . . . Very Good