Wilkins james h editor (15 risultati)

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Hardcover. Condizione: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good in Very Good DJ. First printing. 5 x 7 1/2, 211 pgs, b&w photos. First published in 1913, Harpending's "whole truth" about the Diamond Mine Swindle of the early 1870s in California and other escapades that led to that incident. A Western Frontier Library edition. Foreword by Glen Dawson. …

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. Condizione sovraccoperta: Very Good. First Edition Thus; First Printing. Book has very light edgewear, pages toning; DJ is price-clipped, light toning, 1/2" tear and some tiny nicks w/couple creases, crease to rear flap; b/w photos; 211 pages.

Hardcover. Condizione: Fair. 1st Edition. cloth hard cover.portrait.illustrated.spine dettached and crudely repaired fair,good reading copy.scarce.

Hardcover. Condizione: Good +. No Jacket. First Edition. See Cowan: Bibliography of the History of California, pg. 265. Pahar Nevada 787. Rocq.: California local history 9704. 283 pages plus photographs . Edited by James H. Wilkins, this book is the memoir of adventurer and financier Asbury Harpending (1839-1923) , describing his journey to California, involvement in the Civil War, gold mining, real estate promotion in San Francisco, and the "Great Diamond Hoax of 1872." Top and bottom corners are bumped and there is some wear and there is some rubbing to the top and bottom of the spine. This is a good plus reading copy and an interesting addition to California history. Not Signed.…

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. Condizione sovraccoperta: Very Good. First Edition Thus. Western Frontier Library; 8vo; xx, 212 pages; Contents clean and secure in original binding in very good dustjacket with some wear at rear fold and corners. The Great Diamond Hoax And Other Stirring Incidents In The Life Of Asbury Harpending is a memoir written by Asbury Harpending in 1913. The book chronicles the life of Harpending, a prominent figure in the American West during the late 19th century. The memoir is divided into several chapters, each detailing a different event or period in Harpending's life.The most notable incident described in the book is the "Great Diamond Hoax" of 1872, in which Harpending and several other men attempted to sell a fake diamond mine to investors in San Francisco. The scam was eventually uncovered, and Harpending and his accomplices were arrested and tried for fraud. The book provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the scam, as well as the aftermath of the trial.Other incidents described in the book include Harpending's involvement in the Civil War, his time as a gold miner in California, and his travels throughout the American West. The memoir also provides insight into the social and political climate of the time, as well as the challenges faced by those living in the frontier.…

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. First Edition. Teal cloth covered boards have gilt stamped title art on the front cover, gilt stamped ship on the back and gilt stamped title on the spine. Boards are worn around the edges, corners and spine caps. Gilt is rubbed making the title difficult to read, and there are very minor soil markings. The spine is sunned and slightly discolored with a noticeable bulge from an inside crack around page 223. The spine is slightly cocked. Inside pages are clean with sharp corners. There is a gift inscription on the first free end page dated 1922, and a bookstore stamp on the title page. Edited by James H. Wilkins, this book is the memoir of adventurer and financier Asbury Harpending (1839-1923) , describing his journey to California, involvement in the Civil War, gold mining, real estate promotion in San Francisco, and the "Great Diamond Hoax of 1872." ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 283 pp. …

First Edition. First Edition. Very Good condition.

Hardcover. Condizione: Collectible-Very Good. First edition. Cloth. Voyage to California, dupes in diamond fraud, mining and financial market.

First Edition. 283pp. Frontispiece and 24 plates. The turbulent 1860s-1880s in Od California. In gilt lettered blue cloth, with gilt devices on front and rear panels.

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good-. No Dust Jacket. First Edition. Original gilt-titled cloth. Top edge foxed, spine/extremities sunned, minor bumping, scattered foxing. Affixed to the ffep is a TLS by Harpending, regarding his regret in not dedicating this book to his friend S. H. Daniels. He states that this book is a presentation copy to Daniels.; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; Signed by Author.…

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. First Edition. Green cloth, gilt. Covers worn along edges, spine, and points. Gilt wearing. Light toning to edges. No jacket. Laid in is a check signed by Harpending, dated Sept. 29th, 1898. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; Signed by Author.

First Edition. Asbury Harpending is one of those figures who seems to have stepped straight out of a 19th?century adventure novel-filibustering schemes, Civil War conspiracies, mining booms, and one of the most famous frauds in Western history. The through?line is a restless, opportunistic intelligence shaped by the feverish atmosphere of Gold Rush California and the political turbulence of the 1860s. --- ### Who he was Born **September 14, 1839**, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Harpending bolted from college at fifteen to join **William Walker's filibuster expedition** to Nicaragua-an early sign of the impulsive daring that defined his life. Federal authorities intercepted the party, but he escaped and eventually made his way west. In California and Mexico, he quickly made money in mining ventures, becoming part of the speculative culture that dominated the Pacific frontier. --- ### Civil War conspirator Harpending's Confederate sympathies drew him into one of the more dramatic West Coast episodes of the Civil War. In 1861 he joined a plot to create a **"Pacific Republic" ** by seizing San Francisco-an idea that collapsed thanks to Union vigilance. Undeterred, he traveled secretly to Richmond in 1863, secured a **Confederate letter of marque** and returned to California to outfit the schooner *J. M. Chapman* as a privateer. The plan: raid Pacific shipping and funnel captured gold and silver to the Confederacy. Federal authorities discovered the scheme, arrested the conspirators, and imprisoned Harpending at Alcatraz. He was released in 1864 under Lincoln's amnesty proclamation. --- ### Mining, railroads, and the boomtown of Havilah After the war, Harpending returned to mining and real estate. He helped found **Havilah, California**, which briefly flourished as a mining boomtown in the mid?1860s --- ### The Great Diamond Hoax of 1872 This is the episode that cemented his legend. Two Kentucky prospectors salted a remote Colorado site with industrial diamonds and other gems, convincing Harpending and a circle of prominent investors that they had discovered a major diamond field. The scheme unraveled only when geologist **Clarence King** exposed the fraud. Harpending always insisted he was a victim, not a participant, and defended himself vigorously in his 1913 memoir *The Great Diamond Hoax and Other Stirring Episodes in the Life of Asbury Harpending*. The hoax remains one of the most spectacular swindles of the Gilded Age, illustrating both the credulity and the speculative mania of the era. [Smithsonian Magazine] --- ### Later years and legacy After the hoax, Harpending left California, lived for a time in Kentucky, and eventually settled in New York, where he engaged in investment and speculation. He died in Manhattan on **January 26, 1923** and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens. His life has been dramatized several times, including two episodes of *Death Valley Days*, underscoring his enduring place in the mythology of the American West. ---. James H. Wilkins (editor) The Great Diamond Hoax, and Other Stirring Episodes in the Life of Asbury Harpending, An Epic of Early California James H. Barry Co., 1913. First Edition. Very Good condition. Previous owner bookplate. Inscribed and signed by the author. Uncommon signed. Hardcover first edition. Signed.…

1A-3A intro; 280 leaves; photocopy of typescript manuscript, with corrections; brad bound black binder. One copy located at the Sonoma County Library. Prepared by Wilkins and originally published in installments in the San Francisco call and post, beginning April 22, 1918. Recollections of his father, William A. Richardson, and his mother, Maria Antonia, daughter of Ignacio Martinez. William A[ntonio]. Richardson arrived in San Francisco from England as a first mate aboard the whaler Orion. He remained at Yerba Buena, was baptized a Catholic, and married the daughter of presidio commandante, Ingacio Martinez, adopting her given name Maria Antonia as his middle one. Mariano Vallejo appointed him Captain of the Port in 1835 and he built the first habitation there, a tent, followed by a board house and finally an adobe in 1836. His large Rancho bordered on the bay named for him. These reminiscences by his son give wonderful first person accounts of the life of the Californians and the founding of San Francisco, interaction with the native population, the depredations of John Fremont, the Vigilance Committee, business and commerce, etc. Does not appear to have been formally published in book format.…