"The Days of Old, the Days of Gold. The Days of '49 - Featuring the Mother Lode of California and Its Later Rival the Comstock Lode of Nevada...",

This charming pictorial map of "Mother Lode Country" was designed by Robert Cormack for California Art & Engraving Co. It spans from Chico south to the "Mariposa Big Trees," and from the Sacramento River east into Nevada, where Virginia City and surrounding towns are shown. The region is covered in irreverent illustrations presenting a playful vision of the Gold Rush era. There are bumbling miners, bandits, a stagecoach labeled "California or Bust," stubborn and silly horses and mules, curious bears, unfortunate caricatures of Chinese immigrants, and Wells Fargo locations and mining camps galore. The fateful discovery of gold is depicted at Sutter's Mill; a trio of hanged men appear in Placerville ("Old Hangtown"); Black Bart sticks up a man in fancy duds; an overturned wagon and grave marks Donner's Pass; and Devils Postpile is depicted as a visual pun with a devil seated atop a post. Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are located. Text at top claims the region has yielded $1,860,000,000 in gold; another text cartouche identifies points of interest. Cormack (1909-52) was a Disney animator who worked as Art Director on Bambi and Fantasia and directed Make Mine Music. Rumsey lists two variants of the map under the title Mother Lode Map..., with slight changes to the copyright imprint.

References: cf. Rumsey #8226.

Condition: B+

A colorful example on a lightly toned sheet with light foxing that enters map image at bottom and top right. The map has been tightly rolled and does not lay flat on its own.