Map of Alaska; Compiled from the Official Records of the General Land Office, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, U. S. Geological Survey, Canadian and other sources, under the Direction of Harry King, C.E., Chief of Drafting Division G. L. O. ....., Hon. Binger Hermann Commissioner, Compiled and Drawn by M. Hendges
Washington DC: The Norris Peters Co. Photo-Litho, 1898. Fine. First State. [Sheet 26.75x33.25in, Neatline 32.25x24.75in] Colored map of Alaska, with insets of the Yukon Gold Region and the Aleutian Islands, also including eastern Siberia, Western British Columbia and part of Puget Sound, very detailed with sea and land routes, proposed railroad routes, mineral deposits including recent gold discoveries, and geographic and settlements, folds onto a pocket size; Negligible age-toning, no closed tears along edges, minimal crease fold splits. [Rumsey 6420]. Item #14428
The Alaskan/Klondike Gold Rushes started in 1896 and was very active to early 1900's. This was the largest and wide ranging gold discovery since the California discovery fifty years prior in 1849. Alaska and the Canadian Klondike were farther from populations with more difficult transportation and supply challenges. Seattle became the gateway city to Alaska for the 100,000 plus people seeking their fortune in gold through mining or supporting the miners in towns and camps. The individual or group miner gold rush was short lived as the mining shifted to large scale company mining.
There were many maps of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska coasts, but few with inland details. After the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, several expeditions were sent to explore the interior and determine the boundaries with British America. This map is an important early map by the General Land Office and U. S. Coast and Geological Survey. It is very detailed in routes to known and suspected gold and other minerals in the region on a large scale. The insert of the Klondike, "Juneau to Forty Mile Creek" details the primary route to the largest gold discoveries.
Matthew Hendges (1852-1932) was a draftsman for the General Land Office in Washington, D.C.
Price: $250.00