A CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH HISTORY

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The One Hundred Greatest Items Of United States Numismatic Literature Rank: Number 24

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If an army of trees ever took revenge on humankind, it might be wise to avoid the state of New Hampshire, for it is said that the author of this thousand plus page quarto resides in that section of New England. Conversely, many of the gold bars recovered from the S.S. Central America exceed the weight of this eleven pound bookshelf enemy, and thus it is altogether appropriate that the standard record of a staggering treasure be equally gargantuan in its scope. Written in conjunction with the salvage and marketing of the S.S. Central America treasure, the eye is first drawn to the hundreds of colorfully plated and catalogued assay ingots, but that is merely the icing on the cake. For what Bowers tells here is no less than the complete front story – following the gold and the gold hunters all the way from the Eureka moment to the depths of the Atlantic, and filling in the details with hundreds of primary accounts, woven with the narrative to produce a riveting tapestry of American experience. The S.S. Central America salvors, who painstakingly extricated their golden treasures with utmost care, were equally discerning in their selection of archivists, and Bowers has delivered a written account as compelling as the treasure itself.

1^st Edition

BOWERS, Q. David. A CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH HISTORY FEATURING THE TREASURES FROM THE S. S. CENTRAL AMERICA.
Newport Beach, CA: 2002
1055pp, illustrated
Folio
Hardbound: Black cloth, with pictorial cover inset

1^st Edition Deluxe

BOWERS, Q. David. A CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH HISTORY FEATURING THE TREASURES FROM THE S. S. CENTRAL AMERICA.
Newport Beach, CA: 2002
1055pp, illustrated
Folio: 35 x 29 cm
Hardbound: Full red leather, lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, slipcase

Limited to 400 copies, never offered for publicly for sale and includes a gold dust sample from the S.S. Central America.