[Oregon]. [Mining]

[Four Panoramic Photographs of Late 19th-Century Placer Mining in Lake County, Oregon]

[Oregon: ca. 1890]. Four original panoramic photographs, each 3.5 x 12 inches. Affixed to grey studio mounts. Minor dampstaining and wear to mounts; one mount with slightly heavier dampstaining entering margin of photograph. A bit of dust soiling and mirroring to images. Still very good. Item #1981

An attractive set of four panoramas that depict an ad hoc mining effort in Lake County, Oregon, near the Fort Rock geological formation at the end of the 19th century. The first image presents a wide view of the camp, with tents and temporary stone and wood structures scattered across their shallow valley site, three men posed in front of the mine entrance, and two others aboard an open, mule-drawn wagon. The second photograph shows the group posed with their wagon and supplies across a nearly dry creek bed near their campsite -- what appears to be a rudimentary sluicing operation. The third panorama depicts the three men at work at a well or shaft, apparently taking turns at a handheld crank while the party's dog supervises from atop a nearly rockpile. The final photo is a striking view of Fort Rock itself. The area is best known for the excavation of the oldest known human artifacts found in North America during the 1930s, but also supported placer mining ventures beginning the late 1840s.

Price: $600.00