![[GOLD RUSH] Exceptional Daguerreotype of California 49ers Working a Riverbed Claim](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/63/GOLD-RUSH-Exceptional-Daguerreotype-of-California-49ers-Working-a-Riverbed-Claim_6ae4380cb01e7-full-88861500_1793341453-6ae4380dd8f3b.jpg "[GOLD RUSH] Exceptional Daguerreotype of California 49ers Working a Riverbed Claim")
[GOLD RUSH] Exceptional Daguerreotype of California 49ers Working a Riverbed Claim
Quarter-plate daguerreotype plate with delicate period hand-tinted accents to shirts, housed behind a double-elliptical brass mat and foliate brass preserver in a full pressed-leather case with embossed rococo cartouche and professionally restored leather spine. Case well retains period graphite inscription reading "Dec 31st 1860" and "Samuel Stevens". Ca. 1854 - 1856. Plate measures 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.
A monumental and visually arresting on-site documentary record of the California Gold Rush, capturing four armed-with-tools Forty-Niners working an extensive placer mining excavation.
The plate features a massive, engineered timber flume cutting diagonally across the chasm, braced by tall uprights and weighted by stones to carry rushing water directly across the diggings. In the foreground, four miners pose with their implements: one kneels displaying a shallow gold pan, flanked by a classic wooden rocker box, while companions lean casually against long-handled shovels and a pickaxe. Elevated along the far background terrace stand heavy industrial water wheels positioned beneath hillside miner tents and encampment structures, likely part of an organized river-diversion or ditch-company works. The daguerreotypist applied subtle pigment highlights to the miners' shirts and a prominent American flag perched high above the works. Authentic, large-scale outdoor landscape daguerreotypes depicting active Gold Rush mining infrastructure remain among the rarest and most historically significant treasures in early American photography.
[California Gold Rush, 49ers, Gold Mining, Quarter Plate Daguerreotype, Placer Mining, Flume, Sluice, Water Wheel, Rocker Box, Cradle, Gold Pan, El Dorado, Samuel Stevens, Pilot Hill, American River, Cased Image, 1850s Photography, Western Americana]
Condition
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Very good condition. The plate retains striking depth, clarity, and contrast throughout. Displays an honest, rich perimeter solarization. with two minor pin-sized green verdigris spots in the background visible only under high magnification, and no evidence of abrasive modern cleaning. Housed in a sound, complete leather case with bright interior preserver and restored spine.
Quarter-plate daguerreotype plate with delicate period hand-tinted accents to shirts, housed behind a double-elliptical brass mat and foliate brass preserver in a full pressed-leather case with embossed rococo cartouche and professionally restored leather spine. Case well retains period graphite inscription reading "Dec 31st 1860" and "Samuel Stevens". Ca. 1854 - 1856. Plate measures 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.
A monumental and visually arresting on-site documentary record of the California Gold Rush, capturing four armed-with-tools Forty-Niners working an extensive placer mining excavation.
The plate features a massive, engineered timber flume cutting diagonally across the chasm, braced by tall uprights and weighted by stones to carry rushing water directly across the diggings. In the foreground, four miners pose with their implements: one kneels displaying a shallow gold pan, flanked by a classic wooden rocker box, while companions lean casually against long-handled shovels and a pickaxe. Elevated along the far background terrace stand heavy industrial water wheels positioned beneath hillside miner tents and encampment structures, likely part of an organized river-diversion or ditch-company works. The daguerreotypist applied subtle pigment highlights to the miners' shirts and a prominent American flag perched high above the works. Authentic, large-scale outdoor landscape daguerreotypes depicting active Gold Rush mining infrastructure remain among the rarest and most historically significant treasures in early American photography.
[California Gold Rush, 49ers, Gold Mining, Quarter Plate Daguerreotype, Placer Mining, Flume, Sluice, Water Wheel, Rocker Box, Cradle, Gold Pan, El Dorado, Samuel Stevens, Pilot Hill, American River, Cased Image, 1850s Photography, Western Americana]
Condition
Request Condition Report
Very good condition. The plate retains striking depth, clarity, and contrast throughout. Displays an honest, rich perimeter solarization. with two minor pin-sized green verdigris spots in the background visible only under high magnification, and no evidence of abrasive modern cleaning. Housed in a sound, complete leather case with bright interior preserver and restored spine.
