On Aug. 26, 1875, the Bank of California closed its doors. The next day the bank's founder, William Chapman Ralston's body was found floating in San Francisco Bay.This is a fabulous collection of four documents related to the aftermath of the crash in the stock value of the Bank of California. Very rare documents, possibly never seen before.The documents include: A Public Instrument of Protest, dated Aug. 28, 1875, in which Quong Sing Tie Lee of San Francisco was demanding payment from the bank; a Sept. 3, 1875, notarized protest letter demanding payment; and subsequent $1000 gold note drawn to the "protester," signed by the banking house, L.H. Hershfield & Bro., of Helena, Montana. Also included is a $4000 check drawn on Oct. 5, 1876, to L.H. Hershfield.In 1875, Ralston's financial empire collapsed as a result of the combination of the expense of building the Palace Hotel, the failure of his attempt to buy and then resell the Spring Valley Water Company, the after-effects of the Panic of 1873, and a crash in the stock value of the Bank of California. The crash occurred just weeks before the opening of the Palace Hotel. Crowds of people surrounded the banks that day demanding a return of their money.Ralston had been the biggest mover-and-shaker on the West Coast prior to the collapse of his bank. During the Gold Rush, Ralston had skippered a steamship carrying passengers between Panama and San Francisco. By the late 1850's, he had settled down and gone into banking. In 1864, he opened the Bank of California at Battery and Washington Streets. Though an immensely rich and popular figure, he was famous for his modesty: when they tried to name a town after him, he refused, and so they named it for his modesty instead. Hence the Central Valley metropolis of Modesto. California