Sam Ward in the Gold Rush

Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1949. First Edition. Fine/Very Good. [5.75x8.75"]; [1], x, 189 pp.,[1], 19 black/white illustrations including frontispiece; Pale yellow binding with yellow lettering on red decorative field, map of central California on front and back end papers; Dark red dust jacket with illustration of miner and yellow lettering in black field on cover and spine and other yellow and black lettering, colophon of Stanford University Press on spine and binding, advertisements for other related books on back of jacket [later printing of jacket with ink stamped notice of changes in pricing]; Dust jacket is age toned and has some shelf wear with closed tears and missing chips to top and bottom of spine with minimal text loss. Samuel Cutler "Sam" Ward (1814 -1884) was a banker, poet, author, Forty-niner, gourmet and lobbyist in Washington, DC. He was also the brother to Julia Ward Howe, companion of Longfellow. He left for California in 1849, after bankruptcy in New York, to try the gold fields, open a store and invest in property in San Francisco. Returning to the east coast a wealthy man and with many stories to tell, he began speculating again and became involved in diplomatic affairs just prior to the Civil War. His lobbying activities gained him access to the Lincoln administration during the war. After the war, he continued his lobby efforts and speculation, which lead to additional financial failures. In 1861, he published his gold rush experiences in the New York Weekly under the pseudonym of ‘Midas, Jr.'. These stories were then edited into Sam Ward in the Gold Rush in 1949.