Historical Speculative Fiction

Why not read a newspaper? Go to a library and look at microfilm copies of newspapers from the time and place you're writing about. There will be prices in the ads. Remember that inflation and overcharging are very likely in Gold Rush regions.

So what makes this 'speculative'?

There's a Time Life series of books on the old West that are exellent for resources (and do sometimes have some prices in ads, etc.). These do show up on ebay and might be a possibility for you.

I've also had some luck googling for prices, but then sometimes you have to make some inferences, e.g., if a night's lodging was $2.00, an evening meal might be a quarter or up to fifty cents. There are places that have old ad spreads on line. Usually what I do is pick an item and a time and see what I can come up with - like hotel 1880. (One of my novels is 1885 Montana.) Good luck. Puma

Just about every book I remember reading about the California Gold Rush gave prices for many items from shovels to eggs (several dollars each). And the cost of some Chinese Prostitutes:

"Two-bitee lookee, four-bitee touchee, six-bitee doee."

Smart entrepreuers did not dig for gold; they gouged the miners.

You might have some luck with the Making of America projects, depening on your time frame:

"A digital library of primary sources in 19th-century American social history from the antebellum period through Reconstruction."
moa.umdl.umich.edu

and

"The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts."
http://dlxs2.library.cornell.edu/m/moa/

Also, some public libraries have good online digital collections. Search for "digital library" or "library digital collection" for instance.

Happy researching!

Two bits for just a look? A shave-and-a-haircut seems quite a bargain by comparison.

Sorry, but the 1880 prices have no bearing on the 1849 prices. During the heyday of the gold rush, when people were pouring in and practically no one was farming, prices of commodities shot through the roof.

I read a book not too long ago, and I'm sorry I can't remember the title or the author (it was a Google ebook) - a Methodist minister went out to establish a church and was keeping chickens. He sold the in eggs to his neighbor for 50 cents *each* and the neighbor was then selling them to the miners for 75 cents each.

I'm sure there are other memoirs written of that time and place that you could use for a resource. I don't know if you have access to Google Books, but I've found it an invaluable resource.

Just keep in mind that gold was plentiful but basic necessities were scarce, so prices were outrageous even by our standards.

I'll keep looking for that book and put a notice here if I find it.