Ten Years in Nevada: or, Life on the Pacific Coast

Buffalo, New York: Baker, Jones & Co., Printers, 1880 Book. Fine. Hardcover. First edition. 343pp. Lithographed frontis portrait, two lithographed portrait plates. Newly bound in three-quarter leatherette, gilt-lettered spine. A fine copy. Mary McNair Mathews' story of her travels overland with her son on the newly completed transcontinental railroad in 1869 through northern Reno, where a waiting stage took them to Virginia City. From their boarding house home on the Comstock they visited all nearby towns including Gold Hill, American Flat, Silver City, Sutro, You Bet, Nevada City, Red Dog, and embryonic Reno. "Mathews gives an opinionated description of Virginia City itself., discussing its houses, schools, the great 1875 fire, its people, society, water company, gambling, and the way the town celebrated July 4th. She mentions many early Nevada personalities, such as William Sharon and the mine owners. Chapter 10 describes Chinatown and the decline of Virginia City. The author's ten years in Nevada were filled with hardship, though there were happy moments and many unusual experiences. Here is a hardnosed, prejudiced, acerbic account written in a narrow authoritative style. Scarce" (Paher). [Howes I: M-417; Howes II: M-416; Paher: 1249]..