Extremely rare Comstock autograph. Virginia & Truckee Railroad receipt, Carson, March 14th, 1872. Issued to E. Penrod for 9 7/8 cords of nut pine wood. Signed boldly on the back by Penrod--this signature matches earlier autographs. 3.5 x 8" Emanuel Penrod was a major character in the story of the Comstock discovery. Leaving his ranch in Genoa in search of gold, he became one of the original founders of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, a partner of Henry Comstock, but they sold out before they struck it rich. Later, Penrod traveled 75 miles northeast of the mining town of Tuscarora to an 8,000-foot mountain surrounded by clouds that he called Island Mountain. Here, he realized he needed water for his placer mining so he turned to Chinese workers that he knew about from their work on the irrigation systems in China and the Carson Valley. Penrod and his partner Charles Mayon of San Francisco struck it rich, taking out a quarter of a million dollars in gold from this area. Penrod won a seat in the Nevada Assembly, but is as well-known for his enlightened attitude toward his Chinese neighbors. For more information on Penrod, see Thompson & West's History of Nevada. Virginia City Nevada 1872