4391

Alaska Klondike Kate RPC, Etc. [182521]

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Alaska Klondike Kate RPC, Etc.  [182521]
SOLD
250.00USD+ (62.50) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2024 Jun 09 @ 14:52UTC-7 : PDT/MST
UNCLAIMED MERCHANDISE: In the event that a successful bidder has paid in full for their merchandise but fails to settle outstanding shipping invoices or make arrangements for merchandise pickup within 60 days, HWAC reserves the right to declare the merchandise forfeited. This forfeiture will result in the merchandise becoming the property of HWAC and the successful bidder shall have no claim to or rights over the forfeited merchandise.
A very rare signed RPC of Alaska Gold Rush legend, Klondike Kate. Signed, "Mush on and Smile, Klondike Kate," the 3" x 5.5" full length sepia photograph shows her jauntily sitting on a table. She is wearing a long dress and hat with feathers, holding a fancy beaded bag in one hand and a cigarette with the other. Photo credit in lower right corner, Photo Art Studio, Bend, Ore. Left margin slightly and irregularly trimmed with one small nick in a blank area, and mounting traces on reverse, otherwise fine. Comes with a 2004 L.A. Times article about her life. Kate Rockwell Matson (1876-1957) was a dance hall girl during the late 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush later joining a vaudeville company. She sang and danced for men in Spokane, where her job was to encourage them to drink. She relocated to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory of Canada where she was an entertainer at the Palace Grand. Her bright red hair was popular with the miners. She married a Norwegian miner named Johnny Watson. Watson Creek in Gold Rush country is named in his honor. In 1934 she signed a Hollywood contract for a film based on her life. A movie with her name as title was released by Columbia Pictures in 1943, directed by William Castle and starring Ann Savage and Tom Neal. Three years later her husband was found at one of his claims frozen to death and partially eaten by animals. Klondike Kate's name is the most renowned woman's name associated with the Klondike. Alaska