Rare Book Monthly
Articles - February - 2007 Issue
Books at Auction in San Francisco
Important maps are highly collectible.
57. [MAP]. IMRAY, James. Chart of the Coast of California from San Blas to San Francisco Drawn chiefly from the Spanish Surveys, the Charts of Vancouver &c. the whole much improved by recent observations made by English and French Naval Officers.... London, 1849. Engraved large-scale blueback chart. Remarkably fine condition. This is a format that seldom survives due to intended use, and when found, condition is often a problem, showing evidence of having been used at sea. The desirability of bluebacks is enhanced by their great scarcity. We have no records of ever seeing this chart before. A visually striking and rare historical artifact from the California Gold Rush era. ($7,500-15,000)
83. [MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR]. AMERICAN STAR, DAILY AMERICAN STAR & THE NORTH AMERICAN. 57 issues of three newspapers published in Mexico City in 1847 during the U. S. occupation of the capital at the end of the Mexican-American War. Text in English and Spanish. At the back of the volume are lithographs of Mexican scenes, types, and battles of the War. Charno, pp. 325-326, 386-387. Garrett & Goodwin, The Mexican-American War, p. 510. The Daily American Star (started out as the American Star), was published in both Jalapa and Puebla as the U. S. Army advanced towards Mexico City itself. The paper ran from September 20, 1847 to May 30, 1848. The North American ran from September 29, 1847 to March 31, 1848. Extensive runs of any of these newspapers are extremely rare. ($15,000-$20,000)
112. [SAN FRANCISCO]. HESS, Fredrick. San Francisco -- California. Frederick Hess Publisher.... N.p., 1874. Steel-engraved panoramic view surrounded by 22 vignettes of landmarks, original delicate hand coloring. Fine, beautiful, and exceptionally rare. Reps 322 (locating two copies, Library of Congress & Oakland Museum). Although Baird & Evans (Historic Lithographs of San Francisco) illustrate this view, it is not described in their catalogue because it is a steel engraving rather than a lithograph. The view shows San Francisco as a sophisticated metropolis and cultural center in the seventies, during its phase of prodigious urban development after the Gold Rush and before the 1906 earthquake. Each of the twenty-two precisely engraved vignettes offers historical documentation of San Francisco architecture. ($5,000-10,000)
122. VERGER, Fr. Rafael José. Manuscript report in ink, signed at end, written to Mexican Viceroy Bucareli y Ursúa, dated at Colegio de San Fernando de Mexico, December 25, 1772. 16 pp. Verger's report on progress of the California missions (unpublished), incorporating Father Juan Crespí's diary detailing his second exploration of the San Francisco Bay area. The two reports in this document are crucial, important descriptions of the San Francisco Bay area at the time of Spanish settlement. ($6,000-12,000)
