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Original Photo of the 20 Mule Borax Team c.1890

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Photographic Images Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Original Photo of the 20 Mule Borax Team c.1890
<B>Original Photo of the 20 Mule Borax Team Circa 1890.</B></I> Offered here is a fabulous 8" x 6.25" photo laid down to its 12" x 10" original mat board of one of the most memorable of all western and advertising icons. Businessman William T. Coleman filed claim in 1881 on hundreds of acres of borates in Death Valley, California. The problem was how to transport heavy ore the 165 miles to a railroad junction from where it could be transported by rail for processing into all sorts of handy household and industrial products. The legend is that two of Coleman's employees came up with the idea of hitching two ten-mule teams together to form a 100 foot long "twenty mule team." A special wagon was designed with seven foot high rear iron-tire wheels and a steel frame. It worked well; between 1883 and 1889 these teams pulled 20 million pounds of Borax out of Death Valley during which time not one animal was lost! This photo shows the entire team assembled on the dirt main street of a small town. An excellent piece of western memorabilia in very fine condition with just a slight hint of silvering.