Lithographed map, hand-colored. 54.3x43.2 cm (21½x17"), folding, laid into original blindstamped cloth covers 12.5x8.2 cm (5x3¼"), the front cover is lettered in gilt "Gold Region," and on the inside of the cover is a label "A Correct Survey of the Gold Region California," set in custom-made full red levant morocco folding box.
Very rare and desirable map of the California Gold Region, regarded as the first published map to show the gold region, called by Gary Kurutz, in California 49, "one of the key maps of California History," and noted by Carl Wheat as "one of the earliest (if not the earliest)" maps to denote the discovery area along the American River. Thomas Oliver Larkin, an American businessman and entrepreneur who came to California in 1832, eventually serving as the first and only United States consul to Mexican Alta California, made use of the best-known map of the Sacramento Valley, John Bidwell's manuscript of 1844. He traced it and made additions - as delineated by Larkin, the Mining District occupied two ranchos bordering both banks of the American River: Rio de los Americanos Rancho of the late William Leidesdorff, and Rancho San Juan of Joel P. Drummond. Larkin sent his tracing to T. Wiley, Jr., in Boston for publication, and though somewhat flawed, the map is of great importance, standing as one of the earliest examples of a publisher taking advantage of the gold fever that was just beginning to sweep the nation. Kurutz points out that "Given the map's lack of detail, it can hardly be called a 'correct survey.' For example, Coloma, the site of Sutter's Mill and James Marshall's discovery of gold, lies northeast of the two Mining Districts, and the forks of the American River are not shown. Judging by its present scarcity, the first printed Gold Rush map does not appear to have received widespread distribution." Wheat reinforces that, stating it to be "without a doubt one of the rarest of the early gold region maps, and a decade of diligent search has failed to bring to light any copy other than the one now in the writer's possession." This copy of the map is a variant not noted by either Wheat or Streeter with both “Sacramento” in the title and “Survey” on the label spelled correctly. OCLC/WorldCat lists only seven copies in institutional libraries. No copies are listed as having sold at auction since 1975 by American Book Prices Current, and only two copies are listed by Rare Book Hub (Americana Exchange), the Streeter copy, sold at auction in 1968, and the copy sold by John Howell-Books in 1979, which is the present copy. Early ink signature on front pastedown above label, "Hickney & Thaxter."
Further Notes from the Files of Warren Heckrotte
Full title: Map of the Valley of the Sacramento including the Gold Region. This map is a correct tracing of the map of Bidwell ( Land Surveyor ) by Thos. O. Larkin Esq: late Consul of the U.S. for California; and by him stated to be the best reference in California. | Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1848 by J.H. Bufford & Co. in the Clerks office for the District Court of Massachusetts. | Table of Distances [ distances by sea to California and points in between ] | Escala de 15 Leguas Spanish [linear scale] |
Provenance: John Howell-Books, 1/79
References: W-GR 49, ( Rep ). Wheat, 25 California Maps, 4. Streeter 2526 ( Rep ). California 49, map 28 (Rep, my copy). Cohen, Mapping the West, p149-151 (R, my copy).