The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco | The Log of the San Carlos; and Original Documents Translated and Annotated
San Francisco: The California Promotion Committee [H. S. Crocker Co., Printer, San Francisco], 1909. Very Good Plus. First Edition. [9.25x6.5in]; [5] 11-71 pp., frontispiece of March to Monterey, six illustrations including facsimile signed document and image of first survey map of San Francisco Bay, indices of places and persons; Black cloth covers with orange cloth back strip, red label with black lettering on front, brown ink text, top edge trimmed, fore and bottom edges untrimmed; Minor shelf wear to covers, label, edges and corners, several spots, wriggles and faint pencil marking on label, faint marks on spine and joints, several rubber stamps relating to railroad ownership (see below), printer ink stamp, and partial label pasted to rear end paper. [Cowan p. 193]. Item #14474
Gaspar de Portola (1716-1786) was Spain's governor of California when he commanded a land and sea expedition in 1769 to establish a stronger Spanish presence in Alta California and determine if Monterey or San Francisco Bays would be best to establish a port. The land expeditions started from San Diego to explore to San Francisco Bay, with Portola in leading the second one. Fray Crespi was part of the land expeditions to San Diego, Monterey and San Francisco. His diaries, translated by Herbert Bolton, give the most complete information about the journeys.
Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745-1797) was a Spanish naval officer who played a significant role in the Spanish exploration of California and the Pacific Northwest. Ayala and his crew were the first Europeans known to have entered the San Francisco Bay, and charted and named many of the bays and rivers of the Bay area.
An early owner of this book was the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. The book was likely for reference and for passenger libraries on certain train routes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, multiple railroad companies connected with other rail lines and shared commercial resources, station and passenger facilities and agencies in major transportation hubs. The rubber stamps on the rear end paper indicate ownership with "C. M. & ST. P." In addition, the stamp has the initials of "U. P. S. P.", which refer to the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It is likely, this book was part of the Coastal rail service between San Diego and San Francisco. The partial label is likely a railroad library catalog slip. Also, the "JAN 15 Rec'D and DEC 4 1917" stamp is an interesting date. In December 1917 the United States government nationalized all the railroads due to supply chain issues during World War I. The railroads were required to inventory all assets as part of the nationalization process.
Also, laid in, is an unrelated 3.5x3.5 in sepia captioned photograph of Mission San Juan Capistrano. This would have been one of the stops of the Southern Pacific coastal rail route. Likely, it came from a souvenir book in the 1950's or earlier.
Price: $125.00