The discoverer of Gold in California that sparked the gold rush in 1848 was James W. He served under John C. Fremont in the California bear flag revolt before going back to work for John Sutter in 1847. Along with Sutter, he ended up broke after the gold rush and t o supplement his income he had these cards made to sign and sell to the public for. His autographed cards are rare and even more rare are examples in nice condition. This one is in great condition with a decent signature. You can’t see it in the picture but in the upper left corner there’s a fingerprint, probably his, from the messy iron ink used to sign his card. I had another Marshall signed card I bought from Nate Sanders years ago with a fingerprint (or thumbprint) on it (see last image). The old quill pens were dipped in iron ink and could be messy to use. The ink has faded some and turned brown over the years but still shows up quite well. Almost the size of a post card at 3″ x 5-1/2″. Only the signed card is included. The item “California gold rush San Francisco James W. Marshall autographed card” is in sale since Monday, November 2, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.