Great info for gold seekers, history buffs, bottle collectors,
photographers, rockhounds, hikers, offroaders, metal detector
enthusiasts, prospectors, geologists and more

Tiny detail of big map from book shows mine locations near Pacoima Dam and Magic Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains, near San Fernando and Sylmar. Mines with red dots are gold mines: GCK placers (also known as the Dutch Louie), 23; the Alexander, 3; Campbell-Dunkes, 14; the Acme is number 2. Red triangles mark silver mines; the red "T" means titanium. Map key gives mine locations in exact range and township coordinates.

This rare 1954 first-edition report shows you where to find old gold mines hidden in the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles County, California.

Report contains photos of a far-different L.A., like this one of Santa Monica beach and Pacific Coast Highway. Look close and see that there are two cars at the beach and maybe five or six on all of PCH. When was the last time you saw anything like that?

And -- yes -- it has ALL the separate maps. Without the maps, this report is absolutely useless. Every mine in the book is tied to the maps.

And — YES — it is the newest and LAST official state report on Los Angeles County mineral (and gold) deposits to be published EVER period, end of story. No other official reports about L.A. county were published after this one. Plus, this copy is in just drop-dead gorgeous condition.

Real gold in L.A. County!
You read that right: REAL Gold mines in Los Angeles County. In fact, L.A. County had enough interesting mineral deposits to rate over 100 pages in this book, a report now harder to find than a snowball in Death Valley, especially in this condition, which is AMAZING, very good to near fine.

Great locations minutes from your easy chair
Sick to death of metal detecting for corroded pennies at the local playground? Bored with driving four hours to prospect or pan in areas picked over a million times? Well, this report is for you. Why do all that driving when there are mine sites practically in your back yard? Think you know where all the mines are in Los Angeles County? Think again.

Not too long ago, digging all day for an ounce of gold got you a sore back and a couple hundred bucks. Hardly worth it. Now it gets you a sore back that you can't feel because you're overjoyed that your pocket of gold is now worth EIGHT TIMES that much at $1400+ per ounce.

Ever seen an ounce of gold? It's not that much because it's such a heavy metal. Nuggets are frequently overlooked because they are small.

Third time on ebay
I have seen three other copies of this 68-year-old first edition offered for sale on ebay in 16 years of selling here. And -- NO WAY -- were they in primo condition like this copy. Nice shape!!!!

Of course, it also has all FIVE big separate maps, including the sought-after map showing the locations of all mines and oil fields in Los Angeles County. This sucker is HUGE, measuring about three by four feet. And this map is in very good condition, except for a couple small wear tears along a fold or two.

The paper is still supple and the map can be unfolded without damage. Even if you could care less about mines, this old map shows a Los Angeles far different than it is today, with far fewer roads and far fewer people. So buy it now or forever hold your peace. Once it's gone; it's gone. Think you'll see another one of these on ebay in a couple weeks for 10 bucks? Think again. Ain't gonna happen.

Treasure trove of info
This is not some gift-shop rockhound book; it was written about miners for miners by miners. Prepared by the California Division of Mines in 1954, it's a treasure trove of information for history buffs, bottle collectors, photographers, geologists, hikers, offroaders, rockhounds, prospectors, metal detector owners — just about anyone interested in learning about, exploring or prospecting old mine sites in L.A. County. Sick of metal detecting at spots where every square inch has been dug 500 times? Then this book is definitely for you.

One of the real values of this report is that it lists mines in two ways:

First, it alphabetically summarizes the more important or interesting mines and prospects in the county, along with a description of each that can run from a few lines to several pages, depending on the importance of the mine.

Second, it also alphabetically lists in a table every known mine and prospect in the county. Each entry in this huge table — which runs for 100 pages — includes the owner's name and address. But more importantly, the exact location of almost every prospect is given in infallible range-and-township coordinates! Just plug them into your GPS or look them up on the appropriate topo, and you're there.

Report includes big separate beautiful color relief map of Los Angeles County; a separate overlay map describes the map's features, like faults and mountain ranges.

Here are some of the gold mines described:

• Big Horn mine, on North Baldy Mountain, 28 miles east of Palmdale, includes at least six tunnels totaling over 4,000 feet. Ore was treated in a 50-ton flotation mill in 1934. Mine was idle at time of report.
• Brite Lease mine, in the Neenach District (near Antelope Valley). Total production was over $35,000. Is any gold still there? Use the maps and coordinates and find out for yourself!
• Dawn mine, six miles north of Altadena, in Millard Canyon on southwest slope of Mount Lowe, owned by Mrs. C. Zengel, 1452 Dana St., Los Angeles. Mill included roll crusher and two tables.
• Governor mine, four miles north of Acton and 20 miles east of Saugus. "The deposit was first mined in the 1880s as the New York mine, yielding over $100,000 in gold. A five-stamp mill was then in operation. In 1897 the vein was lost and the mine

  Former owner of book apparently was interested in the old Governor mine, near Acton, about 20 miles from Saugus. He circled the location and wrote the name in red pen on the map. Mine had largest production of any gold mine in the county, producing about $1.5 million in ore!

  closed. In 1932 it was reopened by Francis Gage of the Governor Mines Company, who renamed it the Governor. It was operated continuously until 1942 but its period of greatest productivity was from 1937 to 1940, when rich ore bodies were mined on the 400-foot level."
• Mount Gleason mine, on the north slope of Mt. Gleason, 7.5 miles south of Acton.
• San Gabriel Valley Placers, one mile southwest of Azusa. "This operation was unique in Los Angeles County in 1952 in that placer gold was recovered as a byproduct by a large sand and gravel plant ... Concentrates obtained at the plant are removed to Montebello where waste fractions are discarded; magnetite is removed by an electromagnet."
• Hi-Grade (Don) mine, two miles from Acton. "Gold is present in three or more roughly parallel quartz veins," which range from a few inches to 1.5 feet in width.
• Monte Cristo, 14 miles from Pasadena. Dry washers were used to recover the gold.
• Plus other mines, active and idle, known and unknown.

Report includes separate map showing diverse geology of Los Angeles County.

Don't waste time with secondhand information
Okay, so you have a book by some yahoo who claims that he is a "noted rockhound" or an "ace prospector." You might get lucky and find a couple of neat places, but you'll also hit plenty of barren duds. Why? Because what rockhound, mine explorer, paleontologist or prospector in their right mind would give away their favorite productive locations? Not one. What they will give you are directions to sites that are picked clean or second rate at best. Don't rely on secondhand info when you can get it firsthand.

Book describes geology in detail
Because this is, after all, a book about mining and geology, it covers the latter topic in minute detail. The oldest formation in the western San Gabriel region is the Placerita series, consisting of scattered fragments of once extensive marine limestone, dolomite, shale and sandstone. Although no fossils were found, certain comparisons with the Furnace limestone of the San Bernardino Mountains lead to the conclusion that its most probable age is Carboniferous.

Of course, the text contains far, far more detail about geology — especially how it relates to mineral deposits and their formations — than just the previous two paragraphs. Geology varies widely over an area the size of L.A. County, so it is impossible to convey but the simplest geologic features in an ad.

The book:
"Mines and Mineral Resources of Los Angeles County," California Journal of Mines and Geology, 1954, Division of Mines, San Francisco, stiff paper covers, six by nine inches, pp. 433-780. About 242 pages are in the report about Los Angeles County. Overall in very good, near-fine condition. Binding is tight, absolutely one of the best copies that I have seen of this rare report.

Bumps to corners; covers slightly sunned, couple small edge tears. Small tears on top and bottom of spine, normal for these because maps in rear pocket stress the spine. Couple bent pages, couple scribbles in text. Writing on back cover. Five maps are in great shape, except for a few minor wear tears along creases.

All this sounds much worse than it is. As always, I am extremely conservative about rating book condition and very detailed in listing any potential flaw, no matter how slight. You get what you pay for. If you want a trashed book, filled with ripped and stained pages that the seller just "somehow forgot" to tell you about in his ad, then look elsewhere on ebay.

Payment methods and domestic shipping
Paypal only. Shipping and handling via priority mail. I pride myself on bulletproof packaging and ship in sturdy cardboard boxes or cardboard-reinforced envelopes, not cheap flimsy envelopes. We have NEVER had a package damaged because of bad packing. NEVER.

The fine print:
Ask if you have any questions about the item or terms of sale. I post feedback once a week. Not responsible for typographical errors.

Good luck and thanks for bidding!

Where is it?
Los Angeles County is in Southern California. Adjacent counties are Orange, San Bernardino, Kern and Ventura. Nearby counties include San Diego, Riverside, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Tulare, Kings, San Luis Obispo and Mono.

Cities, towns and places of interest in L.A County include: Agoura, Agoura Hills, Aqua Dulce, Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Arleta, Artesia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bel Air, Bell Canyon, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Bradbury Estates, Brentwood, Burbank, Calabasas, Calabasas Park, Canoga Park, Canyon Country, Carson, Century City, Cerritos, Chatsworth, Claremont, Compton, Covina, Culver City, Diamond Bar, Dominguez, Downy, Duarte, Eagle Rock, El Monte, El Segundo, Encino, Ferndale, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Granada Hills, Harbor City, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Hollywood Riviera, Holmby Hills,Huntington Park, Inglewood, Kagel Canyon, La Canada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Habra Heights, Lake View Terrace, Lakewood, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Mailbu, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Maywood, Mission Hills, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, Montrose, Newhall, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Norwalk, Oak Park, Old Topanga, Olive View, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Palos Verdes, Panorama City, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Playa Del Rey, Pomona, Porter Ranch, Portuguese Bend, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Rolling Hills, Rosemead, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel, San Marino, San Pedro, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Saugus, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, South Gate, Sunland, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Tarzana, Temple City, Terminal Island, Toluca Lake, Topanga, Torrance, Tujunga, Valencia, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Venice, Verdugo, Walnut, Walteria, Warner Center, West Covina, West Hills, Westlake Village, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Whittier, Wilmington, Winnetka, Woodland Hills, Vasquez Rocks County Park and Mount Wilson.