Excessively rare ink signatures of Henry W. Bigler, William J. Johnston, Azariah Smith, and James S. Brown on an off-white 4 x 6 sheet also bearing a notation from the original collector, “The above are the autographs of ‘Marshall’s Companions’ who were with M at the Sutter Saw Mill when gold was first discovered Jan. 24th 1848—I personally obtained them. Abraham B. Ford, January 28th 1898, San Francisco, California.” In fine condition, with light toning. Accompanied by an unsigned 10 x 8.25 cabinet photo of the four men together in San Francisco.
By 1898 Bigler, Johnston, Smith, and Brown were the last remaining survivors of those who had been working at Sutter's Mill under the supervision of James W. Marshall when he discovered gold in the riverbed, and this was signed when they gathered together for a ‘Golden Jubilee’ put on by the Society of California Pioneers to celebrate the semi-centennial of the day they struck gold. The earliest documentation of the find is found in diaries kept by Bigler and Smith, and Brown was the first person Marshall showed his discovery to. Brown played a major role, as he helped Marshall by testing the mineral’s hardness with his teeth and observing it over a flame, because he had heard that gold ‘could not be burned up.’ Once satisfied they had discovered gold the men returned to the river, where Bigler was the third to find a flake in the bedrock, scooping it out on the point of his jackknife. Although men at the camp agreed to keep it a secret, word of the fortune buried in the hills spread quickly and soon the area was overwhelmed by prospectors. None of ‘Marshall’s Companions’ became wealthy from their discovery, but the impact of these four pioneers on American history is undeniable, and their autographs—even individually—are extremely rare. RR Auction COA.
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