Man walking to right in image. Dressed in knee high boots and knee length jacket and carrying all his tools and kitchen implements.
The California Gold Rush inspired many Easterners to journey westward. Gold was discovered in 1848 in California, an area that became a state of the Union in 1850. Eastern newspapers shifted from stories of frontiersmen and pioneers to dramatic tales of the easy wealth and riches attained by those traveling to the West. While many artists portrayed gold prospectors as heroic adventurers, Currier & Ives often produced Gold Rush images that portrayed gold seekers as unrealistic optimists. Here, a prospective gold hunter has traveled half way to California by foot. The sign in the background reads that he still has over 1,000 miles to go. He carries practical items for his journey including a shovel, a set of gold scales, a kettle, a gold processor that also acts as a hat, a gold washing basin and a frying pan, whose handle also serves as a fishing pole. Though the man strides forward, confident in his decision and determined to reach California to make his fortune, his appearance suggests that he is on a fool’s mission.
