216 pp. 6½x4, bound in contemporary half calf and dark blue boards, paper spine label with inked lettering and date. First German Edition.

"John Swingle in 'Some Notes on California Gold Rush Fiction Before 1870' called this the first fictional account by a recognized author. Thereafter, this book is a mystery. Supposedly, Dumas slightly revised and corrected a manuscript journal of a young Frenchman returned from the California gold fields. Dumas stated that he met the Argonaut in 1851 but oddly, did not mention his name...Several editions were published in 1852, and their order of publication has not been established" - Kurutz 209e.