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Gold Rush-era market report broadside entitled “Letter Sheet Prices Current, Prepared Expressly for The Daily Alta California, San Francisco, November 1, 1850,” one page, 8.25 x 10.75, serving as an early commercial price list printed for merchants and traders in San Francisco. Prices are listed alphabetically for “Ashes,” “Bread Stuffs,” “Building Materials,” “Candles,” “Cigars,” “Coal,” “Cordage,” “Dry goods,” “Drugs & Dyes,” "Fruits,” “Groceries,” “Hardware,” “Leather,” “Liquors,” “Preserved Meats &c,” “Provisions,” “Paints and Oil,” “Soap,” “Stationery,” “Teas,” “Tobacco,” and “Miscellaneous articles.” Of note in the "Drugs & Dyes" section are listing prices for “Arsenic," "Morphine," and "Opium."
Portions of the final column, “Review of the Markets,” read, in part: “Flour has been steadily declining and may be considered nominal…Bricks are firmer and may be quoted at $25 @ $30 per thousand, as to quality…Coffee-Fresh arrivals have reduced the price…Cigars can be bought on better terms…The Pork was considered a little rusty, and brought from $21 @ $23…Boots are in fair request - but as the rainy season keeps back, purchases have been made at easier rates…Since our last a fair business has been done, until within a few days, the demand from the interior has fallen off on account of the sickness at and in the neighborhood of Sacramento City, and reports probably much exaggerated. Large quantities of goods arrive in bad condition — being badly prepared for a voyage through the tropics. Bales and other packages stowed directly under the deck are very frequently damaged by the sweat of the vessel, and barrels in the ground tier for want of good seasoned stuff, well secured with iron hoops…Gold Dust can be bought at less than $16, but most of what is offered is not as clear as is desirable.” In fine condition, with one trivial short edge tear.
Issued for The Daily Alta California, one of the earliest and most important newspapers in San Francisco, this rare 1850 San Francisco ‘fly-sheet’ market report captures the volatile, supply-strained economy of the Gold Rush at its height—where luxury imports commanded extraordinary prices, everyday goods fluctuated unpredictably, and a rapidly expanding, globally connected marketplace struggled to meet the demands of a booming frontier city.
The Western Americana auction of Jochen Zeitz.
