Gold & Business, Early California, Account Book of Henry Smith, Allen & Smith Co., Nevada City, Ca 1860-1871 

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Jun 13, 2014 - Jun 14, 2014

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• Lot Description
  Account Book of Henry Smith, Allen & Smith Co. Nevada City, CA, 1860-1871. Folio. Contemporary marbled paper boards, rebacked in paper. 

  
  Speculating in Gold: This fascinating account book charts the rising fortunes of the Nevada City, CA mining firm of Allen & Smith, formed by Henry Smith and Thomas Allen in April 1860. Nevada City was one of the original 1849 Gold Rush sites. The accounts begin on p. 3 with a detailed statement of The work done on the clames on Deer Creek. Expenses are broken down by man, at a rate of $3 per day, as well as equipment, such as quicksilver (mercury), a gold scoop, prospecting pans, nails, etc. The ledger documents the high start-up costs of mining, as Smith and Allen bring in outside help to put in place the necessary infrastructure; later the two men work largely alone. 

  
  After a month of preparation, Smith and Allen found gold in May 1861. Results are reported on p. 17 with The amount of gold dust taken out of the clames commencing April 25th 1861. The men extract several ounces of gold from the diggings each day, sometimes reaching banner days of 8 ounces. Pages 32-33 report the amount of gold sold, with an initial sale of $850 (50 oz. at $17) in June 1860.

  
  Late in 1862, the firm expanded its business and opened a store. The stocking of the store begins on p. 27 and quickly includes a wide range of groceries, fresh food, dry goods, and mining equipment. The firm continued to engage in gold mining and periodically traded in mining claims (p. 100), but it appears that the store was far more profitable than the claim, and soon the men seem to have devoted most of their time to it. The account book provides a wealth of details including dates, prices, names of vendors and buyers, and specifics on a variety of goods and services. Daily statements of cash on hand report the firm's sales. 

  
  Starting with p. 154, the ledger's blank pages begin to be reused, perhaps by Smith, for a wide variety of plans, recipes, and cures (To Build a Shed, To Cure Fresh Beef, To Make Sausage, to Cure Warts on Cows, etc.), and p. 170 begins a section of daily journal entries incorporating details on sales and expenses. This section is followed by more accounts by name, interrupted on p. 250 with an essay on the rights women should enjoy, and on p. 269 with a discussion of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

  
  The volume concludes with the texts of a number of quit-claim deeds, contracts, and indentures relating to the gold mines and their transfers. Mounted at the front is Locating and Describing Mining Claims, a useful broadside from the Mining Scientific Press, and mounted at the back is a broadside issued by E.M. Preston, Nevada City agent for the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Co., detailing the services and capital of the company.

  
  This splendid and rare account book provides a unique view of early California gold mining and business.

   

  Condition

  Contemporary marbled paper boards, rebacked in paper. Very good condition.
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