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Silver City,NV - Lyon County - c1875 - Vista Stereoview Card :

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Photographic Images Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Silver City,NV - Lyon County - c1875 - Vista Stereoview Card :
A view from high ground of what is likely the main road running through Silver City. Stereocard, 3 x 3 1/4", mounted on heavy orange cardstock. High contrast and sharp focus on both views. Slight crimp on top and bottom left corner of cardstock, otherwise extremely fine. "Watkins' New Series, Yosemite and Pacific Coast" printed along left border of card, "26 Montgomery Street, and Woodward's Garden, S.F." printed along right border. "Silver City, Nevada." and "4166" printed along bottom border of card. Number 4166 is part of the "Nevada and the Comstock Series," #4066-4192, taken from 1875-1877. "66" printed on bottom border at right and "76" printed at top right on reverse, with both numbers looking like later additions to the card based on style of print. Photographer, Carlton Watkins. The scene, crisp and sharply detailed, shows an "industrial" street. The image even captures steam rising from a plant on the middle left. A wagon pulled by a 10-horse team, along with three other wagons, are working their way up the road. Although placer miners working their way up Gold Canyon skipped this area in the late 1850s, it was after the Comstock discovery in 1859 that the Silver City district began. By 1861 the population reached 1200, and Silver City became a primary boarding place for animals hauling loads between the Comstock and the Carson River mills. Paul's Pioneer, the Comstock's first silver mill, was also located here. Between 1860 and 1871 Silver City had eight mills and 95 stamps. Always in the shadow of Virginia City and Gold Hill, it slipped further behind in 1869 after the Virginia & Truckee R.R. Downgraded the city's importance as a freight hub. The district is still considered one of the State's most consistent ore producers (Ref: Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps, Paher)