CELEBRATION Of The SEVENTY-THIRD ANNIVERSARY Of The DECLARATION Of INDEPENDENCE Of The UNITED STATES, on Board the Barque "Hannah Sprague," at Sea, July 4th, 1849.; South Latitude 18° 28'. -- Longitude 38° 10'.
New York: Jennings & Co., Printers, 122 Nassau Street, 1849. 1st printing. 16 pp. Oration by Wheeler, pp 5 - 12. Includes program of exercises (p. 3) and List of Toasts (pp 13 - 16). 8vo. Original publisher's salmon-colored printed wrappers. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve. Some general wear & soiling to wrappers, with stab holes along spine indicating it was, no doubt, previously bound with other pamphlet(s) at some juncture in the past. Very Good. Item #49936
Hannah Sprague departed the East Coast, enroute California with gold seekers, wherein Wheeler, in his celebratory Oration, admonishs his audience, "Gold has not always proved a blessing to the land that yielded it. ... let not the easy-gotten treasure of that land beget within your souls the germ of indolence, waste, or un-godliness."
Lists a number of Toasts of the day, that by A. J. Cost, Esq somewhat telling, "The Senoritas of Calif. - May they make good American wives, and the supply equal the demand." And one of the Toasts was to the NY Commercial & Mining Co - perhaps a sponsor of this journey?
According to Eberstat, "This oration was forwarded from Rio to New York and there printed, and sent to California, via Panama, reaching San Francisco before the arrival of the vessel."
Price: $200.00