Letter Press File, Cripple Creek Mining District

1910. Letter Press File, Cripple Creek Mining District, 1909-1910

12 ¼" x 10" letter press file book, moderately worn, soiled and chipped. 1000 leaves of letter press in varying degrees of legibility, though mainly clear and in Very Good condition despite the expected soiling at edges and wrinkling to the onion-skin pages. Predominantly typescript with handwritten addenda and signatures; a few wholly manuscript. Additional 60 pp. index of correspondents, handwritten, at rear of book. Letter press leaves can be a little daunting to read however by placing a white sheet behind each leaf we find them fairly easy to read.

This is a letter press file book documenting two years of activity in the Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado. It was kept by Hildreth Frost, a prominent figure in mining. Frost earned his law degree from Harvard and worked as a lawyer on matters relating to the mining industry in Cripple Creek and Leadville, Colorado. He was Captain of a Colorado National Guard unit deployed in response to violence associated with the United Mine Workers of America strike against the Colorado Fuel and Iron company in 1913. Following the Ludlow Massacre, where around 20 strikers and their families were killed, Frost served as Judge Advocate for the military courts-martial. He continued to work as a lawyer after the conflict, as well as in the mining industry, serving as president and general manager of several mining companies. He died in 1955.

This book documents two years (1909-1910) of Frost's work in the Cripple Creek Mining District. It contains Frost's letter press copies of correspondence to several mining companies, many of which threaten legal action to companies behind on their attorney's fees payments. There are tax deeds, correspondence to judges and other attorneys regarding mining tax cases, financial records of mining companies, and court hearing dockets and transcripts. There is also an inventory of property in the Cripple Creek district owned by Frost. A handwritten index lists all companies and correspondents included in the book.

A remarkable survival that reveals firsthand insights into an important Colorado mining district.