Composite Cyanotype Collage of the Cripple Creek Gold District, Depicting the Morning Glory, Victor, and Portland Mines, Printed on Cloth

Teller County, Colorado, 1910. Large cyanotype photographic collage printed on cloth, approximately 20 x 20 inches. Some creasing and evidence of prior mounting at edges; very good.. A composite cyanotype printed directly onto fabric, presenting a series of mining views from the Cripple Creek district arranged within rounded rectangular and circular panels. The individual images are captioned in the negative and include identifiable views of the “Morning Glory Mine,” “Victor Mine,” and “Portland Mine,” along with a central panoramic view labeled “Cripple Creek.” The scenes show headframes, mills, smokestacks, tailings piles, and dense clusters of buildings, capturing both the industrial infrastructure and townscape of the district at its height. Discovered in 1891, the Cripple Creek gold district quickly became the most productive mining region in Colorado and one of the most important in the United States. Operations such as the Portland and Victor mines were among the leading producers and were widely circulated in promotional imagery during the boom years of the 1890s and early twentieth century. The use of cyanotype on cloth is unusual and points to a souvenir or commemorative function. A highly uncommon format; we have only encountered this and one other example.