Lithographed map/city plan, with some hand-coloring and manuscript notes added c.1904. 40.5x50 cm (16x19¾").
Rare map of the town of Santa Margarita, which was the working map used by the Reis brothers when they were developing and selling lots. Patrick Murphy, who inherited the land from his parents, who had purchased it in 1861, had in 1889 enticed the Southern Pacific Railroad to Rancho Santa Margarita by selling them land near the ranch house. By 1890 Patrick Murphy's efforts to entice further land buyers had largely failed, and Murphy died in 1901. In 1904, the Murphy family sold Rancho Santa Margarita to the three Reis brothers – Ferdinand, Christian and Gustav, German emigrants who made their fortune in the California Gold Rush. Among the manuscript notes on the map are indications of sale of lots in 1904, and the name Mr. Reis. OCLC lists only one copy of the map, at the University of California Berkeley. The description includes the following about the back of the map: "Text, col. map, time table, and ticket rates on verso. Folded title: Grand auction sale at Santa Margarita..." The present map is identical to the map at Berkeley, except that the back of the present example is blank. The present map is thus an unrecorded issue, made even more significant since it was used by the Reis brothers or one of their agents when subdividing their investment.
The manuscript notations on the map include lot prices and real estate notes, such as lot 13-14 - $50 each, lot 19-2-37, 50 each, block 44-48- $300, other portion of block 44 near R.R.- $200, no lots to be sold out of this line“, etc.
Condition:
Some soiling and wear, extensive tape repairs/reinforcements on the verso, lower corners replaced; overall very good.