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"Two Months Ago The Name Klondike Was Unknown, Now It Is a Household Word . . . "

Nice example of this rare Guide map and and text promoting travel to the Alaska / Klondike Gold Regions via the Northern Pacific Railroad.  

The present map and guide is a remarkably comprehensive production, including both an excellent map and a marvelous early guide.  Beginning with a description of the discovery of gold in the region in August 1896 by George W. Cormack and note regarding early Hudson Bay Company discoveries as early as 1870, the guide offers a comprehensive overview of the region, Including pictures, methods of mining, routes to the the gold diggings, steamship departure dates, and explanation of the overland routes from Dyea to Dawson, Outfits and Packs, Timber and Fuel, Customs and Duties, and Mining Regulations for both the Canadian Northwest Territory and the United States Placer Mining Law.

The map itself is shaded to show topographical features, with the major Gold Field regions labeled in red, along with the overland and sea routes to the various diggings.  Issued in the final months of 1897, this is one of the earlier guides to provide meaningful first hand descriptions of the routes north from Taiya (Dyea) and Skagway, with the Dalton Trail noted on the main map and two other trails referenced in the inset.

Includes a large inset map showing the Taiya and Skagway Trails.  While the Skagway Trail appears with some frequency, this is the first time we have seen a map locating the Taiya Trail, which is shown west of the Skagway Trail, heading north from Dyea through the Chilkoot Pass, Long Lake and Lindeman Lake, before reaching Lake Bennett.  The Taiya Trail is also referred to the the Chilcat Route on a few maps.

Printed by the Poole Brothers for the Northern Pacific Railway, 

Rarity

The map is very rare on the market. We are unaware of any examples offered at auction or in dealer catalogs reported by AMPR or RBH.

OCLC locates copies at the University of Alaska (Fairbanks), Yale, Dartmouth, and University of Washington.

The map was issued in 1898 without the inset map and with significant revisions, additional trails and other overprinting.