This wonderful old map of the California gold rush was originally published in 1849. It was created by Ensign & Thayer.
The map features a great deal of detail and mainly focuses on the state of California. Around the time the map was released, the discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valleys sparked the California Gold Rush. This resulted in gold miners coming from far and wide to San Francisco in order to mine the precious metal, and a total of $2 billion in gold was extracted.
The map was also designed to help people get to California from all over the world, with a small map of North and South America showing the various routes to the US west coast.
This map looks great at all sizes: 12x16in (30.5x41cm), 16x20in (40.5x51cm), 18x24in (45.5x61cm), 24x30in (61x76cm), 32x40in (81.5x102cm), 40x50in (102x127cm), 48x60in (122x153cm) and 56x70in (142x178cm), but it looks even better when printed large.
I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 110in (280cm). Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.
The model in the listing images is holding the 20x16in (50.8x40.7cm) version of this map.
The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.
Please note the unframed 24x30in (61x76cm) map has white edges around the map. These edges can help you with framing, or if you don’t need them they are very easy to snip off with scissors. All other maps, including the framed maps, look exactly like the listing images.
If you’re looking for something slightly different, another option would be this amazing map of the Western United States of America, California, Oregon and Texas by Samuel Mitchell in 1846.
The locations on this map include: California, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Missouri and Iowa.
Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.
This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for someone interested in the California gold rush or history of the American Old West.
This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.