SAN RAFAEL, CALIF. — An eight-panel mural titled “The History of Paper Making” by Warren Chase Merritt was the top lot at San Rafael Auction Gallery’s March 17 sale, selling for $72,000, including buyer’s premium. The work was Merritt’s first mural commission and was ordered in 1929 by the Crown Zellerbach company for its San Francisco headquarters.

The murals detail the evolution of paper making, as it began with Egyptian papyrus, Chinese silk and Persian methods, before evolving to the Gutenberg press and how paper is produced even today, from cutting down the tree, floating the logs to the mill, manufacturing the paper and finally the last image, which shows the shipping department at Crown Zellerbach before the San Francisco skyline.

A full report will follow in a future edition.