H26.617
(18.41 cm WIDE)
Letter, from mining camp, 1852. From a miner to his sister From the History Information Station: "Your [letter] of Nov. 10 came to hand today. It was a feast of fat things, I assure you." Immigrants a long way from home, the forty-niners relied on the mails to communicate with distant loved ones. The author of this letter is clearly attempting to convey an image of contented prosperity to his sister back home. He has given up prospecting to open a general store supplying miners. Including "a regular assortment of Yankee notions, a general assortment of novels and books of various kinds." He is typical of the many enterprising capitalists who, having failed at mining found an easier and more reliable source of gold in the miner's pockets.
Used: mining
