Cameron, John after George Victor Cooper.

Entrance to the River Chagres [Panama].

New York: Henry Bill, 1853. Line engraving measuring 277 x 137 mm. From a set of rare, contemporary views of California during the Gold Rush, which though not from one of the many official reports of the period, do provide images as accurate and informative as any of the government publications. This charming lithograph was issued in John M. Lett's A Pictorial View of California, which claimed to have "Information and Advice Interesting To All, Particularly Those Who Intend To Visit The Golden Region." The artist, G. V. Cooper, was a painter, cameo cutter and sculptor who went to California with Letts in 1849, making sketches of many of the major sites. Those prints provided some of the earliest accurate, first-hand images that those on the East Coast would have had of California during the Gold Rush, and they wonderfully capture this brief yet seminal moment in American history. Drawn by J. Cameron. Item #65-2188

Price: $50.00