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    [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada Miners Photograph....

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    • Western Expansion:Goldrush, [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada MinersPhotograph....
    • Western Expansion:Goldrush, [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada MinersPhotograph....
    Western Expansion:Goldrush, [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada MinersPhotograph.... Western Expansion:Goldrush, [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada MinersPhotograph.... View More >
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    Description

    [Nevada Silver Mining] 1880 Virginia City, Nevada Miners Photograph. 8.5" x 5.25". An iconic Comstock Lode photograph of miners at the Consolidated Virginia Shaft House taken by famous Virginia City, Nevada photographer, James H. Crockwell. Image shows 22 miners with three of their children, (one holding an American flag). Two of the miners hold a General Grant Lamp, (named for President U.S. Grant when he visited the mining camp), one a mining implement and another his lunch pail. A grizzled and mostly veteran group of hard rock miners, all would remove their shirts once underground because of the repressive [sic] heat in the Comstock Mines. J. H. Crockwell (1855-1940) was a noted Utah and Nevada photographer who advertised himself as a "Mining and Contract Specialist in Viewing". He displayed his photography at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and is considered as one of the Comstock's most important photographers. This exceptional image has a small imperfection running diagonally at the center of the image (original to the developing process), slight fading at the extreme edges, and with two pieces of old adhesive tape at each corner (which can be professionally removed), else it is a rare image in near fine condition.

    More Information:

    Virginia City, Nevada

    Virginia City is one of the oldest established communities in Nevada tracing its genesis to the Comstock Lode silver strike in 1859. At its peak Virginia City was considered the wealthiest city in the United States and had a population in excess of 30,000 people. It's estimated that $400 million in silver was mined at the Comstock twenty its twenty year boom. But, by 1898 the boom was over and the city's population decreased significantly. Besides the Comstock Lode, the city is also famous for being the literary "birthplace" of Samuel Clemens's famous pseudonym "Mark Twain". Clemens worked as a reporter at the Territorial Enterprise newspaper where he first used his famous pen name as a sign off to  a humorous travel article titled "Letter From Carson".  While at Virginia City Twain was also the "victim" of a mugging staged as a practical joke by his friends. Twain mentioned the episode in his 1872 book Roughing It and still seemed to be a bit miffed after all those years.

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    Auction Info

    Auction Dates
    Nov-Dec, 2011
    30th-1st Wednesday-Thursday
    Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
    Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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