Emperor Norton claimed to have arrived in San Francisco in November 1849, on a ship from Rio de Janeiro.

After the Emperor’s death, Theodor Kirchhoff — a friend of the Emperor’s who was a German poet and essayist — supplied a name for the ship: the Franzeska. (Actually, Kirchhoff said “Franzika” — but, that’s a small point.)

All of the Emperor’s major and minor 20th-century biographers ran with this narrative — even though it never has been independently documented.

Norton's San Francisco arrival narrative remains undocumented — BUT...

Here, we present our discovery of two previously unreported episodes from Joshua Norton’s first several months in San Francisco that appear to support his claim to have arrived in San Francisco in November 1849 — even if they don’t put him on the Franzeska:

• Norton’s paid notice of a temporary business address in early May 1850, a few weeks before he arrived at what usually is regarded as his first recorded business address, and — even earlier —

• what may be Norton’s signature on a February 1850 open letter published in the Daily Alta newspaper.

Joshua’s signature on the open letter would make this letter the earliest known newspaper reference to Joshua Norton in San Francisco.