Bancroft’s Hand-Book Almanac of the Pacific States, for 1862.

1862. Item #91

BANCROFT, Hubert Howe (publisher).
Bancroft’s Hand-Book Almanac of the Pacific States, for 1862. San Francisco: H.H. Bancroft & Company, 1862. 12mo (165 x 115 mm). 192 pp. RARE. InvRBGSus

Original tan pebble-grain cloth, gilt-stamped; some rubbing and light wear to extremities, internally clean with expected light toning from wartime paper stock. A very good, solid copy in original binding, Some scuffing and minor loss to front flyleaves

A scarce Civil War–era Pacific Coast almanac, issued by Hubert Howe Bancroft, offering a compact yet remarkably rich snapshot of the Far West during a moment of national upheaval.

The work includes approximately 20 pages devoted to military subjects—“Art of War,” War Department material, and references to California Volunteers—underscoring the Union’s strategic presence on the Pacific frontier. It further assembles a wide range of governmental and infrastructural data, including lighthouse and Indian Department listings, along with territorial and demographic statistics.

Of particular interest is the political register: United States Senate seats for seceded states (including Alabama and Arkansas) are noted as vacant, while Virginia senators are still listed, reflecting the Union-aligned perspective at a fluid and contested stage of the Civil War.

The almanac preserves early population figures for Nevada Territory mining settlements—Virginia City (2,704), Aurora (1,985), Eagle Valley (1,781), Gold Hill (1,297), and Silver City (1,022)—capturing the rapid expansion of the Comstock region at a formative moment.

An engaging and increasingly uncommon Western imprint, combining practical almanac function with wartime political context and early frontier statistical reporting.

Price: $800.00