American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography, including The Larry Ness Collection of Native American Photography

17 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. lithograph (image), framed to approx. 31 1/4 x 25 1/4 in. Title and copyright printed beneath image. A vibrantly colored depiction of two ships laden with passengers bound for the the east coast, leaving behind dozens more men eager to set sail from the shores of California. A determined few have even jumped into the water, swimming toward the ships. Sacks of gold line the shore and appear stacked in tents visible in the background. Text representing speech coming from passengers in the foremost ship reflects fears that the amount of gold aboard the ship will cause it to sink. Speech coming from miners ashore reveal fears that they will starve, with one miner offering one million dollars to be taken aboard the ship.

The satirical representation of miners appearing as desperate to leave the gold fields as they were to arrive in them highlights the fact that even those who struck it rich could not do anything with their substantial earnings until they returned to the east. The relatively uncivilized west was a harsh reality for miners who survived their quest, and an even darker reality for those who succumbed to disease, accidents, shootings, and other hazards of the venture. This illustration was part of a series if six prints Currier produced, each mocking an aspect of the gold rush.