Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide: With A Minute and Interesting Account of One of the Largest Emigrating Companies, (3000 Miles Over Land), From the East to the Pacific Coast. And What is Claimed as the Most Authentic and Reliable Account of "The Virtual Conquest of California, in June, 1

Claremont, New Hampshire: Published for the Subscribers, 1880. CALIFORNIA. First Edition and a Rare Variant with Original Wrappers Bound In

[IDE, Simeon]. [Scraps of Califonia History. Never Before Published]. A Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide: With A Minute and Interesting Account of One of the Largest Emigrating Companies, (3000 Miles Over Land), From the East to the Pacific Coast. And What is Claimed as the Most Authentic and Reliable Account of "The Virtual Conquest of California, in June, 1846, by the Bear Flag Party," as Given by its Leader, The Late Hon. William Brown Ide. [Claremont, New Hampshire]: Published for the Subscribers, [1880].

First edition, and an interesting variant as noted by Streeter 2992 with the original printed wrappers, and ten additional preliminary pages of text. Sixteenmo (6 7/16 x 4 1/4 inches; 164 x 110 mm). [8],[2], [2, half-title: Scraps of California History Never Before Published, verso blank], [1]- 239, [1, "The Inscription"] pp. Inscribed to the New Hampshire Historical society by the nephew of William B. Ide, dated 1904 on the half-title.

No other copy of this variant with the wrappers and additional text has sold at auction aside from present copy and the Larson copy of 1995, since 1962.

This copy, gifted to the New Hampshire historical society (the state of publication), is bound with the original printed wrappers for "Scraps of California" still intact and bound in along with the text. Additionally it has the preliminary leaves of Ide's follow-up work entitled Who Conquered California? Back cover has at top a caption reading: "More Testimony in Favor of the Efficiency of the ‘Bear Flag Party' in Bringing about the Conquest of California," followed by reference to and quotations from Tinkham's History of Stockton, 1880. The preliminary 10 pages in this variant has favorable reviews and a criticism of the Upham Life of Fremont and of T. W. Higginson's account of the events in California of 1846. All of this is the exact same as the Streeter 2992 copy. It is believed that this variant was was assembled with the various extra parts in addition to the first edition of the text for presentation.

Bound in full speckled, polished calf. Boards double-ruled in gilt. Spine stamped in in gilt. Red morocco spine label, lettered in gilt. Boards edges tooled in gilt. Newer endpapers. Wrappers with some minor discoloration. Some very slight dampstains on bottom edge of first few pages. N.H. Historical Society stamp, blindstamped almost invisibly on first leaf. Overall an about fine copy.

"William Ide was the leader of the Bear Flag movement at Sonoma, and has often been referred to as the "President" of California. He was a man of high ideals and integrity. This little book is source material, and the only volume published thus far that deals exclusively with this incident of California history. Ide died in California in 1852. The book was set in type by hand by Simeon Ide, William's brother, when he was 86 years old. The edition was small and copies are now extremely rare. J. G. L. [J. Gregg Layne, historian and editor of the Quarterly of the Historical Society of Southern California.]" (Zamorano Eighty, 45.)

This self-published volume was printed on a small press by the 86 year-old Simeon Ide in apparently very limited numbers. Mintz lists that only 80 copies were printed.

Graff 2059. Howes I4. Streeter 2967, 2992, 2993. Zamorano Eighty 45.

HBS 67843.

$4,500.