Wall Street Auction #XXI, Session 1

(Gold Rush). The Way They Go to California. New York: N.Currier, 1849. Lithograph, 13 x17 1/2 inches, This lithograph by Currier offers a humorous depiction of the mad rush to California in search of gold in 1849, in which desperate men head west by ship, rocket or dirigible. A passenger laden vessel is shown pulling away from a dock as seven other ships sail away in the distance. The boat carried banner reading "Passage $125 and found (if Lost)". Amazingly, a rocket carrying a lone passenger soars over the dock, the rider's hair blowing in the wind. An airship loaded with passengers is shown in the upper left corner. The dirigible is based on an actual plan devised in 1849 by Rufus Porter, editor of Scientific American. The lithograph has a 3 Inch tear extending from bottom edge through title into image. Light foxing and wrinkling, small old stain in lower margin, Good condition. Rare California contemporary Gold Rush lithograph.