UNIQUE Antique 1911 PG&E Pacific Gas & Electric Co. California Photograph Book

Description: This listing is for an amazing unique Crown Jewel of Pacific Gas and Electric Company history; a bespoke leather-bound statistical and pictorial record of the:Properties Owned and Operated (&)Territory Served (by) Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Gas and Electric CorporationSan Francisco Gas and Electric CompanyCalifornia, U.S.A. 1911 I have searched far and wide and could find no copies on record in the Library of Congress or any other libraries or collections, basically there's no record of this extraordinary book ever existing! Considering the gilded name "G.R. Buckman" impressed on the leather cover I believe this book was one of a very exclusive limited print run made for high-ranking executives and investors and these were never made available for public sale or consumption. It has no index or glossary nor any copyright or publisher or printer information anywhere which supports my theory that it was a very exclusive private printing containing privileged information (and hundreds of unbelievable photographs) intended only for trusted insiders. It has 268 numbered pages on high quality heavyweight paper, a 21"x19.75" fold-out map of the territory served by the 3 companies, several smaller maps and charts/graphs scattered throughout and besides dozens of non-captioned scenic pictures relevant to PG&E it has hundreds of historically priceless captioned photos. The first part of the book up to about page 27 details the revenue and expenses, assets, liabilities, bonds issues statements, and growth graphs. On page 29 begins the historical and statistical section detailing the "History of hydro-electric and gas development in Central California" with stats, maps, and an overview of the Folsom System, Nevada System, Standard System, Colgate System, De Sabla System, Central California System, California Central System, Other Distributing Systems, South Yuba System, Street Railway Division, Sawmills and Timber Lands, Gas Department, Gas Distributing System, Stockton Water System, etc. with lots of nice non-captioned inset photos. On page 58 begins the names and photos of company officers, engineers, department heads, and men of the company followed by more interesting stats. From page 70 to 268 are hundreds of amazing captioned photos of every facet of the company, from irrigation ditches/canals and flumes and timber yards, hydroelectric power plants, power houses, gold dredges, hard rock gold mines, gold mills/cyanide plants and hoists, machine shops, camps, substations, pictures of various factories and other customers, lakes/reservoirs, dams, gas works and gas holders, mills, pipelines, utility poles, street and birds-eye views of various towns, and many other subjects. I maxxed-out the 24 image limit and honestly wish I could upload photos of every single page, it's absolutely fascinating and has given me great joy through my years of ownership. It's hard to exaggerate how significant and rare this artifact is; it has never been digitized or replicated and since I know of no other copies of this unparalleled piece of history it is even more exclusive today than it was when printed 113 years ago. The book measures about 7 5/8" by 11" by 1" thick. Condition is as shown in the photos, binding is tight but the leather wrap has seen better days, no loose pages and no missing pages. It will be very safely packed and shipping will be via USPS Priority Mail, feel free to contact with any questions.

Price: 3695 USD

Location: Laramie, Wyoming

End Time: 2025-01-13T05:33:14.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD