Catalog Archive
Auction 191, Lot 261

Features a Full-Page Advertisement Promoting Salida as Capital of Colorado

"[Untitled - Central Colorado] [in] Mountain Mail - No. 73"

Subject: Central Colorado, Salida

Period: 1881 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
14.4 x 10.5 inches
36.6 x 26.7 cm
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This disbound 4-page newspaper is issue #73 for the Mountain Mail. Published in Salida on October 22, 1881, this issue includes a full-page advertisement (16.6 x 23.4") promoting Salida as the permanent capital of Colorado. The article includes a half-page map by Rand McNally demonstrating its central location in the state. Text beneath the map touts its "superior railroad facilities" and abundance of natural resources. The advertisement concludes that "nature seems to have designated this particular spot in the very heart of the State for the seat of government." Unfortunately for Salida supporters, the city of Denver, which had been the temporary capital since 1876, became the capital with 66% of the vote.

The Mountain Mail newspaper began circulating on June 5, 1880 on a weekly basis. The town in which the newspaper operated had recently been renamed Salida, having previously been called South Arkansas and Cleora. Given the penchant for name changes, the newspaper owners decided to exclude the town's name from the publication title and named it Mountain Mail. The newspaper continues operation today.

References:

Condition: A

Remarkably clean and bright given the paper and intended use. Disbound.

Estimate: $350 - $425

Sold for: $325

Closed on 2/8/2023

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