Printed broadsheet, 2pp., 25 x 18 1/2 in.

A broadsheet supplement “extra” to The State Banner (Bennington, VT) dated 2 December 1848, containing James K. Polk's State of the Union address, delivered days earlier, in which he announces the discovery of gold in California.

Polk states:

"The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by the authentic reports of officers in the public service…The explorations already made warrant the belief that the supply is very large and that gold is found at various places in an extensive district of country."

Accompanied by 2 December 1848 issue of The State Banner with which the broadsheet was issued. 4pp., folio, 22 3/4 x 16 in.