Name/Title
"The Land of Gold: Reality Versus Fiction"Entry/Object ID
2010.408.1.1Description
"The Land of Gold: Reality Versus Fiction," Hinton Helper (Baltimore: The Author,) 1855. The work is an attempt to demonstrate the "reality" of California as opposed to the "fiction" of its reputation as an El Dorado of boundless opportunity. Among statistics which purport to show California's indebtedness, its fires, and loss of steamers and ships, is a table on page 29 which claims that there were, from 1849 to 1854, 4,200 murders and over 16,000 untimely deaths. None of the statistical information is attributed to sources, however. The boards are heavily worn, chipped and dented, while pages are generally clean, so that the overall condition is fair.
