" CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH BELTS & CLASPS " 1851- 52
Those of you in the bottle digging community may know of me as " Buckle Nick" or the antique restorer in Fiddletown . I dug my first buckles back in the Spring of 1999 and soon after picked up a copy of Silver and Gold Cased images of the California Gold Rush . As I looked at these Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes I was fascinated with the almost uniform appearance of these Argonauts. wearing blue and red colored wool flannel overshirts , belts made of thin Patent leather or woven cotton cloth with para military stamped or cast brass" CLASPS". After 18 years of being a hybrid bottle digger and metal detectorist I have gained quite an interest and knowledge of California Gold Rush material culture and have documented my digs and shared my knowledge with others who have been interested.
Last year after 17 years of trying to find a mention of buckles I read "Clasps" next to Porte Monnaies and a bell went off . I immediately started searching clasps and there they were and being sold or auctioned in large amounts prior to Wm. Taussig , Taussig &; Pollack or M.Cohen appearing in the SF directories.
Those of you who are interested in buckle hunting will find these articles priceless as I have .
I have attached a wonderful Hawaiian Islands Commercial Advertiser paper from April 12 ,1858 with a Pollack Brothers , San Francisco advertisement . The Turner Brothers ad, I figured, would be close to the Pollack Brothers ad. I dug this Pollack Brothers tongue last year with my girls and it was a very rewarding day with priceless company.
Sincerely ,
Nicholas Kane
40 dozen patent leather belts eagle & square clasps
Daily Alta California August 5, 1851
200 patent leather belts eagle clasps
200 patent leather belts star clasps
Daily Alta California August 29, 1851
Daily Alta California October 30, 1851
Daily Alta California August 19, 1852
Hawaiian Islands Commercial Advertiser paper from April 12 ,1858 with a Pollack Brothers , San Francisco advertisement
This is the earliest documented record of the California gold rush belt buckles that have been found in the California gold camps. A exciting discovery for gold rush buckle collectors.
Great work Nicholas! - rs -