Letters and documents recording individual experiences during the Gold Rush were featured as Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati offered selections from the collection of Eric C. Caren on Sept. 8. Caren has been selling his collections across a series of auctions over the past few years. Katie Horstman, Cowan’s director of American History, praised the collector’s diverse interest, “He loves everything, whether it’s a six-figure copy of the Declaration of Independence or a $50 imprint.” Caren wrote in his introduction that the collecting area of paper Americana is flourishing as high-end rare book collectors discover the market, explaining, “The reason is simple: even the rarest books can be found in multiples on the net on any day of the week. This material, by its ephemeral nature, is much rarer, and in my opinion, infinitely more fascinating.” Gold Rush Stories His Gold Rush-era lots included a notebook containing handwritten accounts of the California Gold rush, likely recorded during the late 19th or early 20th century by Charles E. Jerrett, a probable descendant of Daniel Jerrett, a grocer from Georgetown, California, and an original 49’er. The city was founded on Aug. 7, 1849, near the northern end of the “Mother Lode” and was a hub of activity for those seeking to earn riches in the Gold Rush. The writings are organized as a series of stories, each focused on specific miners who may have been otherwise overlooked by history. The notebook’s opening states: “The history of the leading characters of the days of 49 have been written, and the names of Marshall and Sutter are known throughout the world. But of the rank and file of Miners, of these who made the real history of the state we have but little record. So I am going to give a brief record of the doings of such men as Poor Old Lousy Bill and Mountain Tim who underwent the dangers of the overland trail, or the longer water routes, and whose lives were spent sometimes in the unsuccessful attempt to draw a future from our rich-creased hills.” The catalog entry adds that the author…
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