Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress, at the Commencement of the Second Session of the Thirteith Congress, December 5, 1848

Thick 8vo, calf spine and tips with marbled boards, illustrated with 6 maps and 16 plans for government buildings, 1004, 271 pp. Covers worn and top hinge cracked (almost detachhed), some dampstaining, ex-library, library stamp on title and verso of first map, foxing and aging, but plates are clean, two maps have slight tears; otherwise good to very good. This tract's imporance rests in the fact that it represents the official start of the California gold rush. In President Polk's State of the Union address he announces the discovery of gold in California, thanks to the discovery report efforts of Colonel R.B. Mason, and a young officer named W.T. Sherman. This volume includes six maps: a folding map of the U.S., La Paz (lower California), Plan of Santa Cruz De Rosales, Upper and Lower Mines, Positions of Upper and Lower Mines, and a Topographical Sketch of the Gold and Quicksilver District. Wheat 565 (p.52). Howes P446