Gold Rush: 1848–1860: "The World Rushed In"
Click image to zoom in.Or view larger version. Grand Patent India-Rubber Air Line Railway to California. ca. 1849. Nathaniel Currier, artist. Hand-colored lithograph. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. Founders Fund.
This lithograph depicts a humorous drawing of people sitting on a rubber band bound for California. The drawing claims, “From the Atlantic to the Pacific, through in no time. The principle of this railway is such that if the passengers are nicely balanced both in mind and body, all that is necessary to land them at the “Gold Diggings” is to cut the line on the Atlantic side, then by one jerk, they reach/in safety their place of destination. Reverse the above and they are back again.”