A collection of 1898 Klondike Gold Rush letters, photos and gold nuggets earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2019 at John McInnis Auctioneers. Image courtesy of John McInnis Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.
NEW YORK — The discovery of gold at Rabbit Creek in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 16, 1896 rocked the continent. American prospector George Carmack filed the formal claim, and thus received much of the credit for the find, though the party included his First Nation companions Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie, and Kate Carmack (who were also, respectively, Carmack’s brother-in-law, nephew, and common-law wife). Rabbit Creek, which fed into the Klondike River, was renamed Bonanza Creek. Hundreds of thousands of men headed for the frigid extremes of the North American west, hoping to turn their dreams of gold into a reality, just like their fathers and grandfathers who flooded the West in 1848 after gold was found in what is now California.
This month and year marks the 125th anniversary of the start of the Klondike Gold Rush, a pivotal part of North American history. Collectors still clamor for objects and artifacts that represent the time and tell its story.
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