1851 Justh Quirot Letter Sheet View of the San Francisco Fire of June 1851

An extremely rare Justh, Quirot and Co. 1851 letter sheet or broadsheet view of San Francisco during the San Francisco Fire of June 1851. It looks down on the burning city from a pastoral hill at the head of California Street. This letter sheet was issued in San Francisco just days after the June 22nd conflagration. The small size of this letter-sheet is reflective of the small and press that the firm, one of San Francisco's first printers, was able to salvage from the earlier May 3-4th conflagration. It would not be until 1852 that they finally acquired a larger format press.

The June 22nd, 1851 Fire

Although only 2 years after the 1849 discovery of placer gold in the nearby Sacramento Valley, and the subsequent boom in building, by 1851 San Francisco was already a bustling city. The San Francisco Fire, doubtless the work of an incendiary, began around 11 AM in house on Pacific Street near Powell. Given the high winds, the predominantly wooden city, including wood plank sidewalks, was quickie engulfed in the conflagration. Ten blocks, City Hall, and portions of six others blocks were destroyed. The city had suffered 5 earlier major fires, including a city-wide conflagration just one month earlier in May. San Franciscans quickly rebuilt using less flammable materials and added water takes to the roofs of most new buildings. This proved an effective counter-incendiary and the city did not suffer another major fire until the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1909.

Publication History and Census

This view is quite rare due it the ephemeral nature of the medium – letter sheets – and the great loss of surviving sheets that occurred during the 1909 San Francisco Earthquake. The OCLC identifies only 2 examples. An additional example is held at the Bancroft Library. We are aware of one other in private hands. Market presence is negligible, making this a once in a lifetime collecting opportunity.