Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47052

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47052

John Sutter Signed Engraving. 10 1/2 x 14 3/4 (sight), framed to an overall size of 18 1/2 x 22 inches. Sutter adds his inscription in pencil to the bottom margin of the engraving: "[Pre]sented to Mrs Proctor with the highest regards [o]f her Obedient Servant / J A Sutter." Signatures by John A. Sutter are exceedingly rare, and no other signed image of him is known to have appeared at auction. Engraved by John Sartain after a portrait of Sutter painted by Samuel Stillman Osgood.

Sutter (1803-1880) is best remembered for his role in the California gold rush. A Swiss immigrant and early settler of California, he established Sutter's Fort in 1839 near the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, a settlement which would later grow into the city of Sacramento. In January 1848, while constructing a sawmill along the American River, his foreman James W. Marshall discovered gold, triggering the start of the gold rush. Although the discovery brought fortune-seekers from around the world, it ultimately ruined Sutter, whose land and holdings were overrun by miners and squatters.

Includes a certificate of authenticity from PSA.

Condition: Not examined out of frame. A few letters of Sutter's inscription cut off where the edges were trimmed; inscription slightly faded, but still legible. Lightly toned with some foxing, soiling, and dampstaining. A few minor scuffs to frame.

Include Thumbnail(s)