Central Bank of Oakland check, 6.5 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Jack London, payable to The Socialist for $1.90, March 6, 1906. In fine condition. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
London first joined the Socialist Labor Party in April 1896. That same year, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story about how the 20-year-old London was out nightly in Oakland's City Hall Park, giving speeches on socialism to the crowds, an activity for which he was arrested in 1897. He left the Socialist Labor Party and joined the new Socialist Party of America in 1901, when he also ran as the high-profile Socialist nominee for mayor of Oakland. His bid was unsuccessful, as it was again in 1905. London's 1903 essay 'How I Became a Socialist,' explains how his views were influenced by his experience working laborious, low-paying jobs.
