Holbrook Hotel Register, Grass Valley, California February 21 to April 13, 1892

Grass Valley, California, 1892. Poor/None. 1892 ledger from the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley, California covering February 21st to April 13th. One leaf for each day. Ledger pages list the name, and residence of the guests. Many ink blotters are included between the pages. These blotters have advertisements for various businesses in and around Grass Valley. The Holbrook has hosted many famous guests including presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harrison, and Garfield but we find no presidents visiting during this time frame. Other famous visitors include the prize fighters Corbett and Fitzimmons and even Mark Twain. The binding and boards are in poor condition and most leaves are now loose. The blotter sheets did their job soaking up ink from the ink pens used in the ledger. Many of the blotter sheets were also used as a form of scratch paper.

Ledger manufactured by the Hicks-Judd Company of San Francisco. Includes a guide to "Leading Hotels" of the west in the front, and a colorful blotter page (with ads sold by the Hicks-Judd Company) inserted between most pages. I would surmise that the "Leading Hotels" are the same hotels purchasing ledgers from the San Francisco firm who produced the ledger and blotter sheets. The Holbrook changed hands sometime before February 21st as the printed sheets list Mrs. D.B. Holbrook as proprietor but now covered with a label listing Hubbard Brothers as the proprietor. A pleasing artifact of 1892 Grass Valley--the blotter sheets themselves are colorful and not invaluable.