POCKET-MAP OF THE COMSTOCK LODE, 1875

PARKINSON, T.D. Map of the Comstock Lode and the Washoe mining claims in Storey and Lyon Counties, Nevada. San Francisco: G.T. Brown, 1875. Original folding lithographic map (26 by 32 inches) matted and framed, entire piece measures 40 by 33 inches; with original purple cloth boards and one leaf of text in pocket on verso of frame.

First pocket-sized folding map of the famous Comstock Lode in Nevada, identifying existing claims by name and location, published around the time of the “Big Bonanza” discoveries.

The discovery of gold and silver in the western Utah Territory (now Nevada) in the 1850s proved to be one of the most significant sources of precious metals in American history. In 1850, gold was discovered by a company of Mormon emigrants, in what is known as Gold Canyon. In 1857, more gold was found in Six-Mile Canyon, which is about five miles north of Gold Canyon. Both of these canyons are on what is now known as the Comstock Lode. “The biggest problem in this grubstake paradise was the sticky blue-gray mud that clung to picks and shovels. When the mud was assayed, it proved to be silver ore worth over $2,000 a ton— in 1859 dollars!” (Don Bush). “The discovery of silver,” wrote contemporary journalist Dan De Quille, “undoubtedly deserves to rank in merit above the discovery of the gold mines of California, as it gives value to a much greater area of territory and furnishes employment to a much larger number of people.” The Comstock Lode was yielding enough gold and high quality silver to draw the attention of President Lincoln, who needed cash to keep the Union solvent during the Civil War. On October 31, 1864 Lincoln made Nevada a state. After 1874, the mines are said to have declined. Yet the most profitable venture occurred at this time— the “Big Bonanza,” an enormous gold and silver ore body discovered beneath Virginia City. From the mid 1870s to 1882, two of the Bonanza Group’s adjacent mines produced $105 million worth of ore, over a third of the total $306 million taken out of the Comstock from 1859 to 1882. First published in wall-size in 1874, this wonderful lithographic map of the Comstock Lode identifies each claim by the holder’s name and differentiates each by color. At the top is a longitudinal section, showing the depths of the mining shafts below the surface. Graff 3200. Phillips, 245. Library of Congress, Maps of America, V, 1049.

A few expertly repaired closed tears along fold lines, original cloth toned.