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American author (1836-1902) best known for his colorful tales of California pioneers, including the much-anthologized story 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat.' AMS signed "Bret Harte," thirteen pages, 7 x 9, August 20, 1896. Harte's draft of his short story "The Youngest Prospector in Calaveras," published in his collection Tales of Trail and Town in 1898. The story begins: "He was scarcely eight when it was believed that he could have reasonably laid claim to the above title. But he never did. He was a small boy, intensely freckled to the roots of his tawny hair, with even a suspicion of it in his almond-shaped but somewhat full eyes, which were the greenish hue of a ripe gooseberry. All this was very unlike his parents, from whom he diverged in resemblance in that fashion so often seen in the Southwest of America—as if the youth of the boundless West had struck a new note of independence and originality, overriding all conservative and established rules of heredity." In fine condition, with uniform toning to only the first page. A fabulous tale of the California gold rush by a celebrated observer of the American West.
Provenance: The Estelle Doheny Collection, Christie's, February 1–2, 1988; Doheny's ex-libris bookplate is affixed inside the accompanying presentation folder.
