SAN FRANCISCO'S EMPEROR NORTON

 

I enjoyed the article about General Sherman. He came to California during the days of '49. He was indeed a banker and he was forced by the Panic of 1857 to call in all loans in an attempt to save his bank. The attempt failed. Another failure was a certain Joshua Norton. He had attempted to corner the rice market in San Francisco. But a ship arrived in the harbor loaded with rice. So, Norton's scheme failed and Uncle Billy foreclosed on him and basically got nothing.

So, Sherman went back east and Norton disappeared after suffering a mental breakdown. He would return, in 1860, as Norton I Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. He would become a beloved "character" in San Francisco where he had an Imperial Box at the theatre and attended the openings of the State Legislature, in Sacramento, where he was provided a "throne". The "Big Four" railroad barons provided him a free pass for transit and railroad journeys. The city provided him a uniform and ceremonial sword. He corresponded with Queen Victoria, Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Benito Juarez, of Mexico.

It was said that his funeral procession, in the 1880's was attended by ten thousand citizens. For banknote collectors it is an outstanding accomplishment to obtain a Norton Banknote. He issued Imperial notes to pay his way and they were accepted by virtually anyone in the city who received one. Today they are both rare and highly desired by obsolete currency collectors.

Sherman, of course, would partner up with two other business failures named Lincoln and Grant to win the Civil War. Some years later when Sherman was asked why he had business dealings with a crazy man such as Norton; he is reported to have replied: "Well we were all a little crazy then"

Norton had an Imperial request for the consideration of the Legislature. He desired that they should build a suspension bridge across the Golden Gate. A group out here called E Clampus Vitus has created a plaque for the Golden Gate Bridge that notes Norton's circa 1880 command to build it. Many SF residents have asked the powers that be to call it the Emperor Norton Bridge. So, we are all still a little crazy out here! LOL"

Lev adds:

Near-daily "Importations" lists published in the Daily Alta show that a succession of ships with rice cargoes large and small arrived in San Francisco in the days and weeks after Norton and his partners contracted to buy the Glyde's 200,000 lb. cargo on 22 December 1852. The momentary glut was cumulative — not based on one ship.

The language of "disappearance" and "return" is misleading. Norton's public profile did recede in the period following his declaration of bankruptcy in August 1856. But, it appears that he remained in San Francisco the whole time, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Norton hand-delivered his Proclamation declaring himself Emperor to the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin on 17 September 1859 (not "in 1860"), and the Bulletin published the Proclamation in that evening's edition. The Emperor added "Protector of Mexico" in 1863, following Napoleon III's invasion of the country in late 1862 and subsequent installation of his puppet, Maximilian. For more on Norton's local activities in San Francisco between 1856 and 1859, see my recent article.

There were many theaters in San Francisco. Although individual theater owners did seek to promote new shows by providing the Emperor with complimentary tickets, this was not a universal practice — and, I've never seen a reference to any theater having an "Imperial Box."

Emperor Norton made numerous visits to Sacramento. Newspaper reports of these visits indicate that his itineraries always included the Capitol, where he observed proceedings of the Legislature. He did so from the galleries, like any other visitor. But, although the Emperor's visits do seem to have been regarded as special occasions, I've never seen a reference to any "throne" or other special seating.

Apparently not. See my new article on this.

There is some evidence that Emperor Norton tried to send telegraphs to these and other leaders. But, it seems that the "responses" the Emperor received were drafted and sent to him as pranks by the telegraph operators, who never sent his original messages.

 

There is no evidence that this was anything like a universal practice. Emperor Norton's promissory notes served a variety of purposes. Occasionally, when the Emperor collected from business owners, bankers, lawyers and such the tributes that he called "taxes," he used the notes as receipts, suggesting that he regarded these "taxes" as investments in the Empire. He sold the notes in the streets to tourists and townsfolk alike, who purchased them primarily for the souvenir value of his signature.

There appears to be no evidence that any of these people — "taxpayers," tourists or townsfolk — did anything with the notes other than to save them as mementos. Probably the only person who tried to spend them was Emperor Norton himself. Even then, the notes would have been accepted only by sympathetic proprietors who considered themselves friends or supporters of the Emperor — similar to saloon keepers who waved him through the free-lunch line without paying the one-drink fee, because (a) they had a soft spot for the Emp and (b) it was good for business to have him as part of the rotating cast.

Emperor Norton issued three Proclamations in 1872 setting out the vision for what opened as the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge — not the Golden Gate — in November 1936. The Proclamations — published in the Pacific Appeal newspaper — don't mention the state legislature, and I've seen no evidence that the Emperor made any separate appeal to Sacramento. The only government bodies he references — in the third of the three Proclamations — are "both the Boards of City Fathers" of San Francisco and Oakland. You can see and read the Proclamations here.

Again, the plaque is a tribute to Emperor Norton's vision for the Bay Bridge — not the Golden Gate. And, the Emperor issued his Proclamations in 1872 — not 1880. Interesting sidebar: When the Clampers commissioned and dedicated their plaque in 1939, the "bridge Proclamations" of 1872 had yet to find their way into the historical narrative. The only decree anybody knew about — and the one whose 1869 date is memorialized on the plaque — later was shown to be a fake decree published by the Oakland Daily News as a joke at San Francisco's expense. It had the Emperor calling for a ridiculously long bridge meandering from Oakland to Goat Island (Yerba Buena Island) to Sausalito to the uninhabited Farallon Islands off the west coast of San Francisco — and bypassing San Francisco altogether. The original bridge to nowhere! You can read about the background and history of the plaque here.

Gratuitous promotion: 2022 is the 150th anniversary of Emperor Norton's "bridge Proclamations" of 1872. The Emperor Norton Trust is urging state lawmakers to use this once-in-our-lifetimes symbolic opportunity to simply add "Emperor Norton Bridge" as an honorary name for the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge — leaving in place all existing names and signage for the bridge and its constituent parts ("spans," tunnel, etc.).

Those interested in supporting this effort can go to EmperorNortonBridge.org, where they'll find button links to "Learn More" and "Sign the Petition."

Lev adds:

For more information, see:
Name It the Emperor Norton Bridge (http://emperornortontrust.org/emperor-norton-bridge)
A Plaque in 1939 (http://emperornortontrust.org/bridge/historical-efforts/1939)
EMPEROR NORTON BRIDGE :: Bridge Proclamations (http://emperornortontrust.org/bridge/proclamations)
A New State of Things? A Pre-Imperial Proclamation from Joshua Norton in July 1859 (http://emperornortontrust.org/blog/2022/3/8/a-pre-imperial-proclamation-from-joshua-norton-in-july-1859)
Did San Francisco City Government Really Buy Emperor Norton a New Suit? (http://emperornortontrust.org/blog/2022/5/18/did-san-francisco-city-government-really-buy-emperor-norton-a-new-suit)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
EMPEROR NORTON'S BRIDGE (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n23a36.html)
NOTES ON EMPEROR NORTON'S PRINTERS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n19a29.html)
EMPEROR NORTON 50 CENT BOND DISCOVERED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n46a28.html)
BOOK REVIEW: PLEASE IGNORE OUR TIME MACHINE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n28a07.html)
PAN CIVIL WAR SHOWCASE UPDATE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n19a10.html)

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