Edward Curtis on The Lure of Gold. CURTIS, EDWARD S. 1868-1952. The Lure of Gold. Carbon copy typescript of his unpublished work, [Los Angeles, c.1950]. 32pp., rectos only, being carbon copy typescripts (except for two leaves which are typed), numbered 1-31 (and including a page numbered 7 1/2), with a few minor holograph corrections in pencil on 17 leaves, a few stains, a few leaves creased, in a folder with metal fasteners. Provenance: Edward S. Curtis; by descent to his daughter, Beth Curtis Magnuson, and her husband Manfred 'Mag' Magnuson; acquired from the preceding by Dr. Billy T. Utley. In 1949 and 1950, Edward Curtis worked furiously on his unpublished manuscript, a massive research project, tentatively titled The Lure of Gold. 'The walls of his tiny apartment were plastered with notes in his unreadable scratch. 'I'm busy with The Lure of Gold,' he wrote [Harriet] Leitch in October, brushing off a fresh round of question from her about his Indian work' (Egan, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, p.311). He envisioned a work that would document 200 years of the history of gold, and he had hoped that year to plan a gold-mining and scientific expedition to Brazil, the Amazon and the Andes. The present manuscript opens: 'What implanted in the brain of man the covetous desire for gold? Gold! Gold! The name in many languages of the globe comes down to us from the dawn of time. The lust for gold began apparently in the stone age.' The manuscript reads like an introductory chapter or prospectus, considering the historic importance of gold in human cultures from Ancient Egyptian time to the Klondike Gold Rush. Curtis describes his own experiences mining for gold in California, Oregon and Alaska, concluding: 'The question was asked 'where is the ideal place to mine - that is, for comfort of surroundings?' The unanimous opinion of that group of rainbow chasers was 'When I go to Heaven, I want it to be like Northern California and Southern Oregon, where we have wooded mountains, moderate temperature and cool flowing streams.' Another typescript draft of this chapter or prospectus was sold in these rooms in June 2021 (though that manuscript only comprised 28 pages). Lot to be sold without reserve. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤ ¤ Unless indicated by the ¤ symbol next to the lot number (or bearing an explicit statement such as 'No Reserve' or 'Without Reserve'), which denotes no reserve, all lots in the catalog are subject to a reserve. The reserve is the minimum hammer price that the seller is willing to accept for a lot. This amount is confidential and does not exceed the low estimate value. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing