David Spilman Fine Books

Klondyke Nuggets; A Brief Description of the Great Gold Regions in the Northwest Territories and Alaska [American Technical Series No. 5, September, 1897]

Ladue, Joseph

New York: American Technical Book Company, 1897. Good. First American Edition, 1st Printing. [7.25x4.75in]; 92 pp., [4] [Chapter V. Miners Luck]; Tan paper wrappers with three staple binding, red lettering on front with colored illustration of large gold nugget, red lettered advertisements on rear, all edges trimmed; Handling wear to thin fragile covers with age toning, soiling, stains and large chips along edges of front and rear covers with no loss of text, spine missing part of top and bottom. [Kurutz Klondike 313b, Tourville 2581, Smith 5638, Wickersham 4344, Arctic Biblio 9547] CS. Item #14029

Joseph Francis "Joe" Ladue (1855-1901) was an American of French-Canadian that was an a western miner, engineer and adventurer and founder of Dawson City during the Klondike stampede to the Yukon and Alaska in 1897. He moved to the Northwest in 1881 to explore mining and business opportunities in the Alaska interior. In 1893, he established a trading post on the Yukon at Sixtymile River (the distance upriver from Fort Reliance) and named it Ogilive. He also built a Sawmill to supply miners in the area. During the 1890's Ladue and others were exploring the Yukon area for gold and other mineral deposits. In 1896, larger deposits were discovered along the Klondike river and creeks, and Ladue moved his sawmill and trading post to a larger flat area a few miles down river at the mount of the Klondike river and the Yukon. He staked out and recorded the town site of Dawson to sell lots and supplies to the projected gold rush miners by mid -1897, there were 5,000 people in Dawson.

From Kurutz, Ladue writes in the preface "... this brief description [as] preparatory to the publication of my larger book, 'Klondike Facts.'", and was used to promote the book. Both books provided factual information on the routes and conditions of the Yukon region and the gold discoveries. And provides first hand testimony of other long time Klondike prospectors on the condition s and environment. It is also a promotion for Ladue's settlement of Dawson City. From Kurutz, "Comparing the Klondike rush to the California goal mania, he [Ladue] proclaimed: "Dawson City is destined to be the greatest mining camp in the history of mining operations." Kurutz, "The text is loaded with quotes from others who also had firsthand experience in this remote land, including several women."

This book was from the library of Dr. G. Warren Smith (1941-2021) of Pennsylvania. He had a long career as university professor and administrator, and was a collector of over 6,000 books, maps, illustrations, and artifacts relating to the Arctic, Alaska and Pacific Northwest.

Price: $390.00