Baptism in Oil. Stephen F. Peckham in Southern California, 1865-66.

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1984 Book. Fine. Hardcover. First edition. Limited to 500 copies printed from the design of Ward Ritchie by The Castle Press. Quarto. 138pp. Portraits, plates from photographs; extensive notes. Cloth-backed decorated green boards with gilt-lettered spine. Light fading to top edge of front cover, else a fine copy. Includes Peckham's extensive correspondence relating to oil. The book documents the story behind one of the most controversial and startling discoveries made during the formative years of California's oil industry. Peckham came to Ventura's Ojai Ranch in 1865 to refine oil for the California Petroleum Company. Instead of finding fields of black gold, Peckham discovered fraud. A fascinating story..