Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, (2000.) dj. Hardcover first edition - First publication of one of the most interesting diaries written during the California gold rush: Navarro did not just come to California from Argentina by himself: he founded a company with 120 investors. His diary (which is a true diary - that is, one written at night each day, rather than a reconstruction of events based on diary notes) actually covers more than the three years that he spent in California, and only about half of the California portion is included in this book (extremely repetitive elements have been reduced, as well as comments about his family back in South America.) From the introduction: " 'I am going to California! Everyone has heard about California. This entire society, from the wisest of the wise to the most rustic hillbilly, has been talking about California. The friars at church talk about its gold, and on walks, in drawing rooms, and even while praying people ask the Lord for a safe trip up there. ..They say so much about that far-off land that my diary, even if it were to be completely filled, could never contain all the news that reaches us all the time from that remote land. Summing it up, they say that everyone who gets there can make his fortune. Then fine, that is where I am going.' Navarro diary entry for 15 February 1849. ...[this] is a diary written by an Argentinean political exile who first took refuge in Chile, just beyond the reach of the Argentinean political hatreds, disputes, reprisals, and singular lack of political tolerance. From there, he, like thousands of people from all over the world, heard the call of California, the California where gold had been discovered. Heading up a Chilean mining company, he set sail in search of his own personal fortune and destiny. Navarro's intensely personal account is about California and about gold, of course, but it is also about life, love, success, and frustration. A stunning tale of his own experience as a forty-niner, the diary is also an often intensely lyrical exploration into our human condition. Navarro was a keen but seldom dispassionate observer of life with a penchant for literary description. He was strongly, Argentinean in his education, outlook, and temperament, but he was also a man enthusiastically caught up in the maelstrom of life that took place in California during the gold rush." Among the California locations which are part of this diary are San Francisco, Stockton, Sacramento, Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras, Melones, San Andreas, Marysville, and more. Photographs, maps, chronology, glossary of key person, notes, bibliography, index. xx, 305 pp. ISBN: 0-803233434.

San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1966. dj. Hardcover first edition - Osbun was an Ohio doctor who traveled to California during the height of the Gold rush, as one of the leaders of a mining company. His two-year journal supplies an excellent account of both Gold Rush California and of the Pacific Islanders he encountered. It covers the ocean passage from New York to San Francisco, by way of Panama, mining on the upper Sacramento and Yuba rivers, and his expedition to buy pigs, chickens, yams and other produce for the San Francisco market from the natives of the Pacific Islands and his return by way of Mexico. Photo frontispiece, maps, several appendices with additional information on the places, persons and ships mentioned in the diary. Index. 233 pp.

Oakland, OR: Elderberry Press, (2003). SIGNED first edition - "Just what is a scuttlebutt? Located amidships, second deck down, the watering hole, or "scuttlebutt," is strategically placed near the ice making plant. With ice cold water being dispensed through copper tubing to a spigot, this watering hole is where sailors congregated on the battleship USS Texas to quench their thirst with cold water, smoke cigarettes and shoot the bull. Yarns, sea stories, lies and jokes were shared among sailors at the "scuttlebutt." Even those who've never been near the ocean will be sure to enjoy the many tales herein." The stories include memories of growing up on the farm in Iowa during the Depression, his years in the Navy from 1939-1959, and finally his life in California. INSCRIBED on the half title page. Photographs. 253 pp. ISBN: 1-930859708.

New York: Scholastic, (2015) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Sacramento author's first novel, a coming of age story with a bit of magic in it - " 'I used to be one of those girls. The kind who loved to deliver bad news. When I colored my hair, I imagined it seeping into my scalp, black dye pooling into my veins. But that was the old Lacy. Now, when I cast spells, they are always for good.' 16-year-old Lacy believes that magic and science can work side by side. She s a botanist who knows how to harness the healing power of plants. So when her father dies, Lacy tries to stay with her step-mother in Chico, where her magic is good and healing. She fears the darkness that her real mother, Cheyenne, brings out, stripping away everything that is light and kind. Yet Cheyenne never stays away for long. ... She forces Lacy to accompany her to Sacramento, and before long, the old Lacy starts to resurface." SIGNED by the author on the title page with the word "Love." 184 pp. ISBN: 9780545695732.