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1969 Mathis Pictorial Map of Sutter's Mill, California, and Vicinity
SuttersMill-mathis-1969$400.00
Title
Where to Explore Map of Sutter's Sawmill and Vicinity. California's Gold Discovery Site.
1969 (dated) 15.25 x 10.75 in (38.735 x 27.305 cm)
1969 (dated) 15.25 x 10.75 in (38.735 x 27.305 cm)
Description
Promoting both Gold Rush history and local businesses, this is a 1969 George Mathis pictorial map of Sutter's Sawmill and vicinity, where the California Gold Rush began.
A Closer Look
Centered on Coloma, California, Sutter's Sawmill (where gold was first discovered launching the California Gold Rush) appears to the right and above the word 'Coloma'. Mines, the few surviving buildings from the Gold Rush, and local businesses are identified. Among the local businesses are restaurants, several antique stores, and Gold Nugget Jewelry with 'guaranteed gold panning'. Friday House, Mathis' home and art gallery, is labeled. Captions provide tidbits of historical context on how Coloma became the community they see before them.The California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold at John Sutter's mill by James Wilson Marshall (1810 - 1885) in January of 1848 was one of the most definitive moments in American history. Coming at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848), the timing of the discovery could not have been more propitious. The combination of new seemly unlimited territory and the lure of gold led to a stampede of adventurers, prospectors, merchants, and homesteaders eager for a new life on the frontier. The Gold Rush was not limited to Americans crossing the Great Plains. European, Australian, and even Chinese immigrants rushed into California hungry for their part of the great strike. This Great Migration transformed the United States in the span of just a few years from a former colony into an expansive transcontinental nation on the cusp of becoming a world power.Publication History and Census
This map was created and published by George Mathis from his studio at Friday House in Coloma, California, in 1969. This is the only known cataloged example in the present format. An edition appeared at auction in 2019 with one side featuring the Sierra Nevada House III menu (a restaurant in town labeled here). The present example bears Mathis's signature, along with the date February 22, 1970, making it a wonderful find relating to a celebrated artist of the Mother Lode.Cartographer
George Mathis (January 26, 1909 - September 28, 1977) was an American artist. Born in Seattle, Washington, Mathis suffered from Paget's disease as a child which led to him spending much of his time indoors. During these years Mathis developed an interest in art and his early art education was self-taught. After graduating from high school Mathis attended Washington State University, where he studied landscape painting under William T. McDermott and majored in art. He graduated in June 1932, moved to California, and began working as a commercial artist and art teacher. Mathis married his wife Jean in 1936. He and his wife Jean moved to Nevada City, California, in 1948 after living in the Bay Area for a few years. Here Mathis developed his desire to use art to recreate western history. During this time Mathis also began doing lithography, which soon led to a very successful business. The couple moved to Coloma, California, around 1960, and remodeled a Victorian-style house dating from the Gold Rush era. They operated a studio and art gallery here and named their home 'Friday House', using Jean's maiden name. Mathis' passion for recreating the Gold Rush era earned him the nickname 'pictorial historian of the Mother Lode'. He added a new dimension to his career in the 1960s, when he began creating illustrations for the Aerojet Corporation, the Sacramento-based aerospace company, then America's largest producer of rocket engines. More by this mapmaker...
Condition
Very good. Signed and dated by Mathis.