This is an interesting vintage woodcut engraving titled "View of Hock Farm, on Feather River, California." The  engraving is in very good condition and was published in Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, an illustrated newspaper out of Boston, Ma., on September 6, 1851. The engraving is accompanied by a brief article describing the house owned by John Sutter, of California Gold Rush fame.

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The Sutter Hock Farm is the first non-Indian settlement in Sutter County, USA established in 1841 by John Augustus Sutter. John Sutter's Hock Farm was the first large-scale agricultural settlement in Northern California, composed of grain, cattle, orchards and vineyards. Located on the Feather River, Hock Farm was intended by Sutter to be a retirement location where he would relocate his wife and children to. By 1864-65 Sutter could no longer maintain the farm as the California Gold Rush had depleted the area of manpower and Sutter could no longer hire workers. The Mansion located on Hock Farm was destroyed by a fire in 1865 also destroying all of Sutters personal records of his pioneer life. Sutter ultimately lost Hock Farm when the mortgages became too high.

Wikipedia

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The overall size is approx. 10.50 by 15.50 inches. The paper is mildly age toned. There is text on the reverse side. The page had at one time been cut in half and I have carefully put it back together with archival document repair tissue on the reverse side. This is not a modern reproduction. This is a vintage  engraving, over 160 years old, and guaranteed to be as described.

Woodcut engravings were used in the illustrated newspapers in the middle of the 19th century. To create a woodcut engraving, an artist would first draw his illustration on paper either from direct observation or from dagueorrotypes, or early photographs. Skilled workers would transfer the drawing to the surface of a very hard block of wood. Then the engravers went to work, carving into the wood to produce an original engraved block, from which plates were made for printing the images. This technique was used to create the pictures we find in Harper's Weekly and other illustrated publications including Ballou's Pictorial, Frank Leslie's publications, and Gleason's Pictorial.

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When matted and framed these antique prints make very fine gifts! We can mail these directly to a third party if you wish.

In response to inquiries we have recieved, please note; the terms used in our auctions, engraving, steel engraving, woodcut, lithograph, and photogravure refers to a PRINT, ie. an image on paper. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. The prints may be returned to us at any time for a full refund including postage