Giles Constable 
Rothschilds and the Gold Rush [PDF ebook] 
Benjamin Davidson and Heinrich Schliemann in California, 1851-52, Transactions, American Philosophical Society (Vol. 105, Part 4)

In this extraordinary monograph, Constable chronicles the month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter cash transactions and other business between the Rothschild ownership and their agents in Sacramento, Benjamin Davidson and Heinrich Schliemann. Presents a case study embracing both the macroeconomics of the California Gold Rush vis-a-vis international finance, and the microeconomics of the day-to-day issues of credit, cash exchange, wealth transference, insurance, and risk between 1851 and 1852. These kinds of records have disappeared in California, given the flooding and fire that destroyed Sacramento and San Francisco during this time. This rare treasure trove was found on the European side of the exchange. Illus.