(CALIFORNIA) [Wells Henry Jackson] Small sketch book

Sale 2207 - Lot 51

Price Realized: $ 2,040

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

(CALIFORNIA.) [Wells, Henry Jackson.] Small sketch book. 1863 pocket diary, 4 x 2 1/2 inches, containing 46 ink drawings on 32 leaves, as well a few pencil diary notations; leather cover moderately worn, many pages loose or absent, slight dampstaining visible on most pages. San Francisco, circa 1863-66

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Additional Details

This small volume is inscribed with the name of Sophia Adelaide "Addie" Wells (1859-1916), the daughter of Henry Jackson Wells (1823-1912) of San Francisco. As Addie Wells was only four years old when this diary was produced, and many of the drawings appear to be addressed to her, we can guess Henry Jackson Wells was the likely artist. Wells grew up in the Boston area, and came to California in the 1849 Gold Rush, set out his shingle as an attorney, and quickly became established in local politics. He was appointed as a judge in 1863, and then returned to Massachusetts in 1866. Addie later attended Wellesley College and married Nebraska cattle breeder Frank James Cross.
The drawings are a mix of San Francisco street scenes, frontier scenes, and flights of fancy intended to amuse a small girl. The family's Jackson Street home is represented, as is Addie's school. Most drawings are captioned, with some particularly interesting ones being "The Old Lady Who Wanted to Tell Addie's Fortune," "Addie's Friend from China," "Hanging a Spy," "Telegraphing on the Plains," "Crossing the Isthmus," "Lassoing Wild Cattle," and "Crossing the Plains" (shown). Some of the drawings seem to represent local Civil War units, with drunken soldiers represented as bottles with arms and legs, rampaging through town with titles such "On a Furlough" and "Foragers." The artist was an accomplished amateur, working with a challenging medium: doodles on small bits of lined paper. The result is a charming and humorous look at 1860s San Francisco, as recorded for a young girl.