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Malakoff Diggins Oil Painting c.1850s

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Malakoff Diggins Oil Painting c.1850s
SOLD
800.00USD+ (156.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2014 Dec 10 @ 09:56UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Beautiful soft oil painting of Malakoff Diggins depicting the mine in snow. Artist unknown. Framed size—21" H x 31" W. (Light crackling in paint.)

While beautiful in its own way, the Malakoff mine pit on the San Juan Ridge is a testimony to the avarice that was part of the California Gold Rush, and to one of the nation's first environmental protection measures.

In 1850, there was little gold left in streams. Miners began to discover gold in old riverbeds and on mountainsides high above the streams. In 1851 three miners headed northeast of what is now Nevada City for a less crowded area to prospect. One miner went back to town with a pocket full of gold nuggets for supplies and was followed back by many prospectors. These followers, however, did not find any gold and declared the area "Humbug", thus the stream was so named "Humbug Creek". Around 1852, settlers began to arrive in the area and the town of "Humbug" sprang up. These miners could not decide how to move the dirt to a place where there was water.

Burger Collection

Date: c.1850's
City: Nevada City
State: California
ID: 22017