Jun 12 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2708 -

Sale 2708 - Lot 41

Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(CALIFORNIA.) William C. Ralston: or, He Never Went Back on the Poor. Printed songsheet, 11 x 4¼ inches; ¾-inch chip at one corner not affecting text. San Francisco: Bell & Company, circa 1875

Additional Details

A tribute to the recently deceased San Francisco banker William Chapman Ralston (1826-1875). Much beloved for his charitable works, his fortune collapsed after building the elaborate Palace Hotel. This song recalls Ralston's benevolence: "To many a poor man he gave bread . . . with his wealth he gave work to the poor." The penultimate verse expresses the chaotic environment of the Gilded Age: "We've been living in a state of excitement / Such times we have never seen here / With selfish monopolies, big rings and elections / We are swindled all round us, I fear / Mining stocks coming down and the breaking of banks / We've nothing considered secure / But the loss of Great Ralston we mostly lament / He never went back on the poor."

Only one in OCLC (Yale), and none traced at auction.