San Francisco Upper California in 1847 Lithograph by Prevost, V., and Sarony & Major

San Francisco Upper California in 1847 Lithograph Drawn on stone by V. Prevost; Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1849 by Robert Wells in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.; Lith. of Sarony & Major, 117 Fulton St[reet], N[ew] Y[ork]

Lithograph measures 8 1/8 x 13 3/4 inches with uneven trimming on three edges. Very light foxing and soiling. Two very small, closed tears not affecting printed area. Several light creases. One pinhole at left margin and one thinning area of paper near right margin--both only noticed when held to light. Verso shows remnants of mounting tape at corners and is lightly soiled. Good condition.

An early and apparently scarce 1849 lithograph of San Francisco as drawn on stone by Victor Prevost and printed by Sarony & Major in New York. We find no records in OCLC however UC Berkeley holds two copies and New York Public Library holds a copy. Print was apparently published with a plan of the nascent city, below the print--our copy is lacking the plan. Print includes a patriotic banner along the top edge and shows a sleepy town with several boats in the harbor.

San Francisco in 1847 was sparsely populated with about 800 residents with a scattering of buildings as shown in this print. That all would change dramatically with the discovery of gold. The California Historical Society published a facsimile of this lithograph in 1944 as their "Keepsake Number One". We have not examined the 1944 facsimile but believe our copy to be from 1849. To our eye, the printing and paper are both consistent with a mid-19th century print. If this print is not from 1849, we will refund full purchase price.