The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill forever changed the identity and landscape of the American West. While miners from across the world scrambled to make their fortunes, practitioners of a recently discovered technology–the daguerreotype–raced to record the prospectors and rapid changes in the towns and landscapes that would define the era. These pioneering photographers left behind a body of work that brings to life a pivotal moments in American History: The California Gold Rush.
From studio portraits of “Forty-Niners” to views of the cities and camps in which they lived and worked, Freeman's | Hindman has been entrusted with offering a remarkable selection of Gold Rush-era photography at auction over the last 30 years. This whole plate daguerreotype capturing San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush is no exception.
Taken between 1852-1854, the image shows the southeast corner of Front and Sacramento Streets, focusing on a series of buildings that once served as the headquarters for the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. Located close to the waterfront (as evidenced by the ship masts just visible behind the “Ship Chandlery” at left), this busy intersection was occupied by commission merchants and importers who offered various wares to fortune-seeking miners.
The daguerreotype’s exceptional clarity and contrast reveal many details within the composition, including figures seated in doorways, horse-drawn carts parked in the street between stacks of barrels, and timber that almost certainly would have been used in the construction of wooden ship hulls.
This historic image encapsulates the rapid growth that transformed San Francisco from a settlement of approximately 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown representing the epicenter of the California Gold Rush. A daguerreotype of this size and importance has not appeared at auction for nearly 20 years.
To be offered in our American Historical Ephemera & Photography auction this May 31.
Lot 356 | [CALIFORNIA - EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. Whole plate daguerreotype of San Francisco, California. Circa 1852-1853. | Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000