The German Emigrants or Frederick Wohlgemuth's Voyage to California.
GOLD RUSH TALE. The German Emigrants or Frederick Wohlgemuth's Voyage to California. Translated by Leopold Wray (pseud. for Clara de Chatelain). [2], 39, [1] pp. Hand-coloured frontispiece and 7 hand-coloured lithographs. 12mo., 170 x 110 mm, quarter red morocco over marbled boards. Guben: F. Fechner, [ca. 1852].
Rare First Edition of this poignant German literary travel account of a Prussian boy, Fred Wolgemuth, his family, and their emigration to California during the Gold Rush era, illustrated with eight hand-coloured lithographs.
The harrowing scenes and episodes recounted in the text include a gruesome wreckage of a Portuguese slave ship and an unsuccessful attempt to free a group of blacks in Havana. Arriving in San Francisco, Fred and the ship's captain join the hordes searching for gold in the mountains. Overcoming encounters with robbers, they finally strike it rich at the book's happy ending.
References to Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, at the height of its popularity in 1852, as well as to the San Francisco fire of 1851, strongly suggest a publication date of ca. 1852. This scarce work was reprinted for the California Centennial celebration by J.L. Delkin in 1949. In near-fine condition.
Gumuchian I, 2204. R.E. Cowan and R.G. Cowan, A Bibliography of the History of California 1510-1930 169.
Item nr. 30594
Price:
$750.00