L. W. Currey, Inc.

(California; San Francisco; Woodward's Gardens) Woodward's Gardens. THE LAST MAY-DAY AT WOODWARD'S GARDENS 1891 -- FRIDAY, MAY 1ST -- 1891 GRAND MAY-DAY FLORAL FESTIVAL 200 CHILDREN IN COSTUME ... [caption title]. S[an] F[rancisco]: Francis, Valentine & Co., Printers, 517 Clay St., 1891. Single sheet, 30.8x14.7 cm, printed on both sides. Flyer printed on salmon paper stock advertising the last of the famous May Day celebrations held at The Gardens. Verso is an advertisement for People's Home Savings Bank, 805 Market Street cor. 4th St., San Francisco, California. "Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco's first amusement park, opened in 1866 in the Mission District, just a few blocks from Mission Dolores. Combining museums, conservatories and entertainment sites, the one-stop enterprise would also open the city's first zoo and America's first aquarium ... For 25 years Woodward's Gardens was the place to go in San Francisco for popular culture, recreation and amusement ... Woodward's Gardens closed to the public in 1891 ... the family auctioned off their father's collection of 75,000 articles on April 6, 1893" (Robert Ehler Blaisdell). The venue attracted up to 10,000 people on major holidays such as May Day. "How large a place Woodward’s, which occupied the great area from Thirteenth to Fifteenth, and from Valencia to Mission, occupied in the old life of the city is graphically shown in many accounts of picnics and celebrations held there. May Day, Fourth of July, the Fourteenth of July, and, in fact, all big holidays, the reception to General Grant in 1879, and other notables, were all staged at The Gardens. Every May Day the school children of the city were the guests of Mr. Woodward, and from early in the morning until late in the evening their little hearts were thrilled by a thousand and one wonders" (Wikipedia). Old horizontal folds, mild wear at edges, a very good copy. Provenance: The Marilyn Blaisdell collection. (#167133).

Price: $150.00