Catalog Archive
Auction 180, Lot 763

"The Express Quick Trip Across the American Continent from New York to San Francisco. From Sketches by Our Special Artist",

Subject: Prints Miscellaneous, Railroads

Period: 1876 (published)

Publication: The Illustrated London News

Color: Black & White

Size:
18.8 x 13.4 inches
47.8 x 34 cm
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This sheet includes 11 vignettes of scenes that could be seen on an "express" train ride from New York City to San Francisco. The vignettes were drawn by Melton Prior, who is described in a short article on verso as having been "sent to America upon the occasion of the United States Centennial Festival and International Exhibition at Philadelphia, has shared in a remarkable feat of railway travelling." The largely romanticized scenes include lavish dining, bathing, and sleeping cars, with Caucasian men attended to by African Americans. Other vignettes show "a few civilized Indians on the road" and "coaling on the road at Wannemucka by Chinese laborers."

References:

Condition: A

Light toning along the edges of the sheet.

Estimate: $80 - $100

Sold for: $60

Closed on 11/18/2020

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