Early San Francisco Newspapers on Microfilm

SAN FRANCISCO BULLETIN

Part One

An immediate consequence of the discovery of gold on the American River near the village of Coloma in January of 1848, was the insatiable regional and national demand for all manner of topical news emanating from the faraway west and San Francisco - the gateway to the mines. Most of the early San Francisco newspapers were earnest, often threadbare and not a little bit parochial; most actively sought to play ball with the vested interests of the day. Yet there was one paper that was as much a journal as the means to a singular mission, founded with indomitable courage and all the axioms of the righteous.

C. O. Gerberding & Company launched the SAN FRANCISCO DAILY EVENING BULLETIN on October 8, 1855. James King of William, disillusioned banker, ex-prospector and former member of the original Committee of Vigilance, acted as the source of editorial vengeance. He zealously assailed crooked financiers, political opportunists, rioters, gamblers, moneyed influence peddlers, strike goons, houses of prostitution, graft, bribery, corruption and election fraud. The BULLETIN's fervent campaign on behalf of civic reform caused an immediate public sensation, and the daily edition progressively expanded to some 6-7,000 copies in the first six months. King was nothing if not forthright, placing his work ethic and publishing philosophy front and center:

". . . . an editor who cannot stop in the middle of one of the finest trains of thought that he is putting on paper, to minute the dimensions of a huge pumpkin, write an advertisement of a dog lost, enter the name of a new subscriber, or receive pay for an old one, to take a cow hiding for something he has said, and after all resume the thread of his discourse, and carry out the idea in its original force and beauty, is next to no editor at all . . . ."

James King had himself been a witness and victim to corrupt business practices and unscrupulous dealings in the banking industry prior to becoming a journalist, and he utilized the powerof the press and the platform of the BULLETIN for the excoriation of the Palmer, Cook and Company banking house, I. C. Woods (caretaker of the bankrupt Adams & Company), United States Senator David C. Broderick, and other city newspapers thought to be compliant in the city and statewide corruption.

San Franciscans responded wholeheartedly, sensing hope and redress in the defiant language and pugnacious stance of the new DAILY EVENING BULLETIN:

"in California still it may be said, that rogues and villains make their daily bread . . . but who would dare these villains to expose in public print and make so many foes? . . . .Yes, now we have a friend who dare speak out, the BULLETIN explains their whereabouts . . . ."

From an office on the southeast corner of Merchant and Montgomery, the BULLETIN battled "shoulder-strikers, ballot-box stuffers, and political vagabonds generally in the city", and advocated the formation of chartered banks and oversight regulation by the state legislature - tall demands from a modest, four-page crusading tabloid locked in fierce sales competition with the ALTA CALIFORNIA, the HERALD, the PICTORIAL TOWN TALK, the GLOBE, and the CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE.

The vigorous James King had become, in a very short time, a renowned and fearless champion and folk hero for the law-abiding and the previously fearful; this was a man who labored to expose and throw out politicians who were no better than pirates of the mainland:

"A man, unworthy to serve the humblest citizen in the land, has filled the highest office in the gift of the people. Judges have sat on the bench, whose more appropriate station would have been the prison house. Men, without one particle of claim . . . have filled the posts of Mayor and Councilmen in this city, for the sole purpose of filling their pockets with the ill-gotten gains of their nefarious schemes, their pilfering and dishonesty . . . ."

American-style civic reform, it has been observed, usually stems from a bad societal conscience - in search of a good night's sleep. What the firebrand James King began in the pages of the DAILY EVENING BULLETIN would play out in a firestorm of public outcry and vigilante justice that transformed San Francisco on the eve of the American civil war - and the catalytic event was the murder and martyrdom of James King himself, on May 14, 1856.

To be continued . . .

Next Reads

So you've already finished reading the San Francisco's One City, One Book selection this year and want to find something else to whet your literary appetite? Look no further, for you can subscribe to Next Reads and read e-newsletters that highlight books from your favorite genres and subject areas. Reviews span across various works including mystery, science fiction, romance, thrillers and suspense, biography and memoir, armchair travel, and more. Even better, find the books right from the library at one of your local branches. To learn about books set in San Francisco, works by local authors, and announcements of selected upcoming literary readings, try San Francisco Interest. Curious about featured events, exhibits, and the latest happenings at the library? Check out Exhibitions and Programming.

And just in time for the literary scene, don't forget to drop by the LitQuake events happening at the library this month. For more resources and activities for the bibliophile in you, check out San Francisco Reader's Corner.

Turbo Charge Your Google Searching Skills

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 2 to 3:30, turbo charge your Google searching skills from this presentation offered by the Magazines & Newspapers Center.

When searching for information on the Web, many people simply "Google it," but rarely tap into Google's advanced search options. In this presentaion, go beyond the basic search box and learn how to use special operators to fine-tune your search strategies and customize your search results. Unlock some of the hidden features and shortcuts in this popular search engine. Search more precisely, smarter, and faster.

-Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
-Location: Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room
-Event Date & Time: Saturday, October 2, 2010 (2 to 3:30 p.m.)

ABCs of Digital Scanning Photos

The Magazines and Newspapers Center presents an encore demonstration workshop featuring digital scanning techniques for photographs, slides, negatives and transparencies.

Patrons are encouraged to participate as we digitize images from various media. Our class meets in the microfilm room of the Fifth Floor Magazines and Newspapers Center. Bring family snapshots, slides, negatives!

-Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
-Location: Main Library, Fifth Floor, Magazines & Newspapers Center, Microfilm Room
-Event Date & Time: Monday, September 27, 2010 (Noon to 1 p.m.)

EARLY SF NEWSPAPERS

DAILY EVENING PICAYUNE

Many of the early San Francisco newspapers came into existence and went just as fast - it was the readers who stayed. The denizens of the new city consumed commerce bulletins, compared auctioneers' advertisements, studied steamship schedules and public notices, evaluated price lists for dry goods, posted body, soul and worldly belongings in personal classifieds, and gleaned the latest gold and silver mining news - all of which filled the text-only pages of the pioneer publications of San Francisco in the days of early settlement and statehood. By the end of 1850, San Francisco could boast of no less than five daily newspapers - all competing in cutthroat fashion in a turbulent local economy whose very foundation rested on equal parts ferment, gambling and speculation. The number of dailies rose to eight in early 1851, fell to only two a year later, then expanded to an even dozen by the end of 1853.

The first Pacific coast evening paper, the DAILY EVENING PICAYUNE debuted with the August 3, 1850 issue. Published Monday through Saturday by Dr. John Hancock Gihon & Co., the PICAYUNE was guided editorially by former San Francisco Sub-Prefect P. A. Brinsmade and erstwhile attorney W. W. Shepard. The paper lost no time in championing the miraculous enterprise of lusty pioneers and a city of destiny, rising to a rendezvous with greatness:

"In little more than one year almost the entire town has sprung, like magic, into existence. During that period, too, it has twice been nearly destroyed by fire, but it has each time suddenly arisen, Phoenix-like, from its ashes, with additional strength and beauty. There is unquestionably existing a spirit among our citizens superior to all difficulties, capable of leaping every obstacle, and of achieving any great undertaking . . . ." August 5, 1850

Within three weeks, the PICAYUNE had its first big scoop. On the morning of August 23, 1850, the steamer California docked in the bay, bringing with it news of the death of President Zachary Taylor. That afternoon, black borders framed the front page of the Daily Evening Picayune, detailing a national story the morning papers didn't carry until the next day.

Always topical, the Picayune took pains to laud the civilizing tendencies of 'virtuous females' in the growing city, offered approval of various public works projects (such as the 'grading and planking of the principal thoroughfares of the city'), saluted the opening of the Union Hotel (and approved its subsequent moratorium on in-house gambling a month later), and alluded toward big dreams of California independent nationhood:

"No people can lay under the uncompensated exactions which have, for the years past, been forced upon us; and the people are with great plausibility, familiarizing their minds with the idea, long entertained and boldly promulgated before the close of the Mexican War, by those now in places of executive power and legislative influence at Washington - that united with Oregon . . . . we may build up here a great western Republic, independent of the world beside."

The Daily Evening Picayune building, plant and editorial team of Shepard and Brinsmade were all effectively lost in the fire of May 4, 1851. Following the resignation of the old regime, the paper resumed later that month ( on May 27th) under the helm of lifelong journalist Andrew C. Russell (Sacramento Union, Los Angeles Star) and political dilettante Charles S. Biden. Though not overtly political journalists or firebrands, Biden and Russell nonetheless expressed devout Whig leanings in many editorials. Russell himself survived two separate duels (pistols and knives)fought with offended parties in 1851-52.

Amongst other interesting features which appeared in the early newspapers published in San Francisco were the special columns and sections devoted to the many non-English immigrant settlers, particularly those toiling in the mines. The DAILY EVENING PICAYUNE ran a regular feature in French by 33-year-old Etienne Derbec, a former contributor to the Journal des Debats. Derbec gained a loyal following, and later published the first-ever French and Spanish newspaper in San Francisco, L'Echo du Pacifique and El Eco del Pacifico.

Operating under a spate of different owners during its final year (which included A. M. Macy, George O'Doherty, Sanford Biden and others), the PICAYUNE experienced financial difficulties severe enough to put it out of business. O'Doherty himself, in the role of proprietor, looked ahead to the time when the gold and silver would someday run out:

"The impression for some time has been steadily gaining ground, that the real basis of prosperity in California is her agriculture; that however great the amount of wealth drawn from her mines, it is her soil which is to make her a state."

The final issue ran on April 17, 1852, and the paper was subsequently absorbed by the SAN FRANCISCO TIMES. Though short-lived, this fascinating journal offers the historian unique, contemporary insights to the early development of the city, from vigilance committees to fire companies to culture and arts.

Visitors to the San Francisco Public Library may view historical issues of the DAILY EVENING PICAYUNE in the Fifth Floor microfilm room, and in the San Francisco History Center.

On Hannibal's Trail: Biking the Alps

The Magazines & Newspapers Center of the San Francisco Public Library presents a program of history, travel, and unforgettable adventure!

Join us as BBC correspondent Danny Wood recounts Hannibal's war against Rome (circa 218 BCE), featuring a 2,000-mile journey of armored men and elephants - a trek that history has never forgotten. Relive the adventure in the modern day as Danny Wood and his two brothers follow the ancient footsteps of Hannibal - from Iberia, across the Pyrenees and the Alps - this time on bicycles!

- Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

- Location: Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room

- Event Date and Time: Saturday, September 18 (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)