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Printing Blocks for Zoeth Skinner Eldredge's The Beginnings of San Francisco

A most unusual collection of 51 metal blocks used to print the illustrations in Zoeth Skinner Eldredge's 1912 book, The Beginnings of San Francisco. This book, an extensive two-volume production, "of great historical value" (Cowan), traces the development of San Francisco from the Anza Expedition in 1774 to the adoption of the American city charter in 1850. Included are several impressive printing blocks for about a dozen California maps and charts. One of the maps, made especially for the book by Eldredge himself, sparked controversy among historians for its depiction of an apocryphal freshwater lake - the Laguna de Manantial - shown therein as located in the present-day Mission District. Eldredge went on to edit an even larger History of California, first published in 1915.

The present collection includes 37 photographic halftones on copper and 10 zinc cuts mounted onto wood blocks, ranging in size from 2 1/2 inches to 14 inches square, with several large oblong maps measuring up to 20 inches length (e.g. "Overland Route: South Pass to Cailfornia").  A number of the halftones reproduce drawings by Walter Francis, a California artist and illustrator who worked for the San Francisco Chronicle. Several other blocks reproduce historical photographs, some identified as taken by W.C. Mendenhall of the U.S. Geological Survey or Capt. D. D. Gaillard of the Boundary Commission. Further images are taken from privately held paintings, photographs, and documents, or copy images from other books such as the Annals of San Francisco or Bartlett's Personal Narrative. Among the images are a dozen California maps and charts; a plan of the Presidio in 1820, portraits of prominent early Californians; depictions of several military events; landscapes and scenery of wider California, such as the Colorado Desert, the Gila Trail, the Palo Alto, the ports of Monterey and San Diego; and a number of street and bay scenes in San Francisco proper.

Most of the blocks remain in the printer's storage wrappers, which show where they were to be placed and bear an ink number and manuscript annotation denoting the proper location for the illustration in the book. The wrappers also include manuscript titles or descriptions for each block.

Also present here are 4 additional, unwrapped printer's blocks, comprising one zinc and three copper plates, that relate to the subject of Eldredge's work but were not used in the final publication. These are: a portrait of Gaspar de Portola, a view of his march on Monterey, and an image of a document with his signature, as well as an unidentified western scene.

Zoeth Skinner Eldredge (1846-1915): An American Banker and Amateur Historian of California

Zoeth Skinner Eldredge was an American banker and amateur historian known for his contributions to the local history of San Francisco, California. Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1846, Eldredge pursued a career in banking, but his passion for history led him to explore and document the early narratives of San Francisco. His historical works, while not widely acclaimed, reflect his dedication to chronicling the city’s past.

Eldredge is noted for two self-published books on the history of San Francisco, including a two-volume set illustrated by the present printing blocks. Contemporary reviews of his history of San Francisco describe it as containing "fairly readable essays" that are "distributed somewhat capriciously between text and notes." Critics also observed that Eldredge did not strictly adhere to the topics suggested by the titles of his works, often venturing into tangential areas beyond the immediate scope of his subject.

Eldredge's 1912 Map of a Mythical Vanished Freshwater Lake in San Francisco

One of the most controversial aspects of Eldredge’s historical work involves a map included in his 1912 book, The Beginnings of San Francisco. The map, printed without attribution and believed to have been created by Eldredge himself, depicts a "now vanished freshwater lake" that supposedly played a central role in the founding of San Francisco. This representation sparked considerable debate among historians and researchers, as later studies revealed that the lake Eldredge identified likely never existed. Instead, it appears Eldredge may have confused the mythical lake with Mission Creek, a tidal lagoon present in early San Francisco.

The original printing block of Eldredge's controversial map forms part of the present collection. The map depicts an overlay of San Francisco's street grid with a vanished lagoon shown under the streets which is labeled Laguna de Manantial - the same words used by the early Spanish explorer Anza when describing a local Washerwoman's Lagoon. According to Eldredge: "The Laguna de los Dolores covered the present city blocks bounded by Fifteenth, Twentieth, Valencia and Howard streets, now closely built up with residences."

Eldredge's work is often characterized by its blend of fact and folklore, reflecting the broader trends of amateur historical writing in the early 20th century. Despite the inaccuracies and critiques of his methods, his efforts to capture the early stories of San Francisco contribute to the rich tapestry of historical narratives that define the city’s complex past. His legacy as a historian is marked by his enthusiasm for the subject and the ongoing dialogue his works continue to inspire among researchers of California’s history. Eldredge died in 1915, leaving behind a body of work that remains a subject of study and discussion in the field of San Francisco historiography.

An amazing and rare survival for such a comprehensive set of book illustration printing blocks used to illustrate a substantial and widely-read early 20th-century California history. An outstanding set of physical examples for the study of early 20th-century book illustration and California publishing.