652
San Francisco,CA - July 12, 1875 - Ralston, William Holograph Letter, Signed :
Currency:USD
Category:Collectibles / Western Americana
Start Price:250.00 USD
Estimated At:500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
SOLD
1,450.00USD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2010 Oct 29 @ 18:27UTC-7 : PDT/MST
Did you win this lot?
A full invoice should be emailed to the winner by the auctioneer within a day or two.
A single-page handwritten note by the famous pioneer banker/financier of the Comstock, written on Bank of California letterhead (actually a half-sheet memorandum) and addressed to Thomas B. Shannon, Collector of Customs for the District of San Francisco. The letter is a personal recommendation for a job seeker, in which he states: “I take pleasure in indorsing (sic)…as a man of integrity of character…he applied to me to sign…a paper, but I can’t do that for the reasons I never sign any paper under any circumstances, and I send this in place of what he asked for. Wm.C. Ralston.”
William Chapman Ralston (1826-1875) moved to San Francisco in 1854, eventually founding the Bank of California and then presiding as its president in 1872. Despite Ralston’s reputation as a financial genius—and even with the aid of other institutions and individuals determined to keep California’s largest financial institution above water—the bank was forced to close the doors in August of 1875, due to a run on its deposits. Ralston resigned from his administrative position. A short time later (August 27), Ralston took his usual morning swim in the Bay and was drowned, either purposefully or by accident is not known. This note is written just over a month before his death. Signed Ralston documents are very rare. No manuscript or signature of his has sold at auction in over 35 years.
Auction Location:
Atlantis Casino Resort 3800 S. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada, 89502, United States
Previewing Details:
Preview is available at our Reno office located at 3555 Airway Drive Suite #308 by appointment only, any
time prior to 10/28/2010. Call 775-852-8822 to schedule a preview. Space is limited. Preview is open to
the public on 10/28/2010 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm at the Atlantis Casino Resort located at 3800 South
Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada.
Sales tax will apply, according to state law, for any items that ship to Nevada or California or are picked
up at our Reno, Nevada location, unless a current, valid re-sale certificate is provided at the time of
purchase.
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NST |
7.725% |
Nevada Sales Tax: |
| CST |
9% |
California Sales Tax: |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Shipping will be calculated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. A $5
handling fee will be included in the shipping charge. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges.
We do not ship any purchases until the auction invoice is paid in full. Purchases will be shipped via
our approved, insured carriers, Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal
Express will be insured for the full value determined at auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana at no
extra cost to the buyer. Federal Express shipments will be sent the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
following receipt of payment. Pick up is available from our Reno Office the next business day after
the auction. NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension or weight) may require special
handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice.
Payment Details:
A 3% discount is applied to all sales. That discount will be reversed if payment is made with a credit card or through PayPal.
(PayPal/Credit Card Purchases - 20.5% Buyers Premium)
Accepted Payment Methods:
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- See Payment Details
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1. This is a Live Auction which includes a Mail Bid/Absentee Only Section.
2. Internet Bidding. Absentee and Live internet bidding are both available through this auction
network. If you wish to bid LIVE via the internet, you MUST pre-register on one of our available
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absentee bid, or bid live at more than one online auction network for bidding errors may
result. A live video and sound feed will be accessible during the auction for those bidding via
the internet. Absentee bids will also be accepted on this site until 2 hours prior to the auction.
Bidding will reopen for the live portion when the auction starts. Absentee internet bidding
for the Mail-Bid/Absentee Only Section Only of the auction will remain open until Monday,
November 8th PST
3. Live Auction Absentee Bidding: Absentee bids for the live auction will be accepted until two
hours prior to the start of the live auction. It is your responsibility to submit all lot numbers and
bid amounts accurately. Absentee bids should be equal to at least 50% of the low estimate if an
estimate is provided. Bids on “No Lots” or “Withdrawn” Lots are considered no bids. Absentee
bids for the Mail Bid/Absentee only section of the auction will be accepted until Monday,
November 8th, PST.
4. Mail-Bid/Absentee Only Section Bidding. A portion of this sale is designated as “Mail-Bid”
or “Absentee Only”. The Mail-Bid/Absentee Only portion of the sale will close approximately
one week after the live auction. It is your responsibility to submit all lot numbers and bid
amounts accurately. Absentee bids should be equal to at least 50% of the low estimate if an
estimate is provided. Absentee bids for the Mail Bid/Absentee only section of the auction will be
accepted until Monday, November 8th, 5pm PST.
5. Reserves: Most of the lots in this auction are unreserved.
6. Buyers Premium. There will be a 17.5% Buyer’s Premium added to each lot. This premium
includes a 3% discount for transactions paid with cash, checks, money orders or wire transfers.
All other forms of payment are not subject to the 3% discount and the Buyers’ Premium will be
calculated at 20.5%.
7. Invoicing: Shipping charges will be added to all invoices. Invoices are mailed or emailed
within two business days after the close of all portions of the sale. Payment is due in full within
15 days of receipt of invoice to Holabird-Kagin Americana, 3555 Airway Dr., #308, Reno, NV
89511. We accept cash, personal checks, money orders, wire transfers, etc. All returned checks
are subject to a $25 fee. Cash received in amounts greater than $10,000 is subject to the filing
of IRS 8300 forms, as required by law. Sales tax will be added to all sales picked-up after the
auction or shipped to California or Nevada addresses, according to state law, unless a resale
certificate is provided.
8. Return Policy. All items are guaranteed to be authentic. If authenticity is challenged, please
call our office for assistance. You may return any piece that was significantly inaccurately
described by calling our office within one week of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error
and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. We have attempted to describe
condition accurately. If no condition is given, assume average. Please call us if you require a
more specific condition report. Any items that are returned, must be returned in the exact,
unaltered condition. NGC certified tokens that are returned must be original, unaltered NGC
holders. Any tokens removed from the original NGC/NCS certification holders or items returned
in an altered condition are deemed are not returnable under any circumstances. When we
receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image
of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have
previewed the lot in person. Therefore, returns are only accepted if prior approval is given by
Holabird-Kagin Americana.
9. All stock certificates, checks, warrants and other financial documents sold herein are sold as
antiques, and have no financial, securities, or public trading value whatsoever, other than as an
antique.
10. We reserve the right to reject any bid we feel is not made in good faith.
11. In the case of tie bids on the book, the earliest received shall take precedence.
12. The placing of a bid shall constitute the bidders acceptance of these terms of sale.
13. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
14. Kagin’s, Inc. nor its subsidiary auction company Holabird-Kagin Americana shall not be held
responsible for any failure due to the loss of the auction applet provided by this auction network