Very rare. Dateline Placerville, El Dorado County, Cal., December 9th, 1852. Unissued, but filled out for one share. Signed by B.F. Reese, president, and A.T. Taylor, secretary. Not cancelled. Interesting "bookend" borders and vignette of dog outside next to safe with flume feeding a lake in the background. Reverse has salmon-colored background of eagle and ornate design. Printed on thin paper by Harmon & Springer, El Dorado News Office, Placerville. 6 x 10.5 Horizontal fold. Very light wear. In amazing condition given its age. Browne (1868) reports a main ditch line of 34 miles carrying 600 inches of water 24 miles at a grade of 4.5 feet per mile from the south fork of the American River supplying Placerville and vicinity. Original cost was $500,000 but the value in 1868 had dropped to $50,000. There were 108 miles of lateral channels and three reservoirs: Silver Lake, Red, Lake, and Willow Valley, all of which held nearly 350 million cubic feet of water. They charged 25 cents per inch for mining and domestic use, and $7 per acre for vineyards. B.F. Keene was a physician, popular California Mother Lode politician and once president pro-term of the Senate. He died in 1856 while president of the State Medical Society. A.T. Taylor was a California pioneer and one of California's earliest historians and prolific writers. He came to California from China in Sept. 1848. Bancroft consulted with Taylor for his monumental work on the history of California.Date: 1852Country (if not USA): State: CaliforniaCity: PlacervilleProvenance: