A Prospecting Party [Gold Rush Letter Sheet]

Britton and Rey, 1850. Single sheet measuring 8 ¼ x 10 ¾ inches on blue wove paper. Small chip to corner not affecting image, some older tape repairs verso at margins, else fine, very good plus overall and quite attractive. Very Good. A series of four illustrations telling the story of a mining party that heads out with a pack mule, only to fail to find gold and lose their mule before returning to a new prospect with their clothes in shambles. This is entry 209 in Baird’s California’s Pictorial Letter Sheets, in which he sets the publication date as being prior to 1855. The series possibly illustrates scenes from a song. A particularly fine example on the classic blue wove paper of the period.