The Klondike Gold Rush: Photographs From 1896-1899

by Graham Wilson

These 125 archival photographs document the Klondike gold rush and tell the day-to-day story of the ordinary stampeder. Carefully selected anecdotes and written accounts provide insight and illumination of this fascinating event. This is the official book of the Klondike gold rush centennial.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Photography, American History

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

My fiction has been described as "economical and traditional." I try to define my characters through their actions rather than relying on elaborate descriptions or analysis of motivations. I like lots of surprises and feel that the primary role of the writer is to entertain. As a result I tell strong stories that are hopefully well paced and exciting.

I have written professionally for more than two decades. I started my career writing for newspapers, magazines and radio. I have also written dramas for TV and have authored nine books. I studied book publishing at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Stanford University and worked as a Book Publisher for twenty years.

Reviews

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical accounts and 125 archival black and white photos of those few years in the Yukon form the context of this book. Many photos, especially that of Klondike stampeders, weighed down with backpacks on their thirty degree climb to the Chilkoot summit in mid winter, dead horse trails, boats running treacherous rapids and canyons, the North West Mounted Police and those of "tent city" made a big impact on me. This short read provides some insight into the danger and difficulties these stampeders faced in their mostly futile attempts to find gold in this area.

[James Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of archival photographs from this wild and deadly era in the history of this particular area of North America. I picked it up while vacationing in the area. It is beautiful country but this book shows the dark side of the dreams of so many prospectors who died while in search of material wealth.
The black and white photographs are fittingly symbolic of the reality of that time. After my visit I was left wondering how many of those men and took the time to notice the colorful and starkly beautiful was the world that surrounded them.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book like this that is heavy on actual pictures of what people actually did and went through is so much more powerful than just hearing about it.
Short book but eye opening. Good way to spend some time.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent pictorial with just enough history written in to satisfy the mildly curious. The photographs speak volumes in this short book.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting photos with just the right amount of text to tie it all together.

[Lorrie Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. I have traveled to near this area and the very start of the Klondike trail so I enjoyed reading this short account and the many photographs.

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, photographs record time. Every inch is informative: where, the occasion. Noting dates is paramount. When records become as old as these, every item: sundries on a shelf, what people wore, is not only an education but grants the magic of beholding a past that preceded us by far! Reading a book of notations can become a blur and accompanying images might not be done justice, if we are ill-prepared to give them more than a surface glance. To draw the most informed experience from this album, I read about these very regions, made memorable by a fictional adventure: “Aurore Of The Yukon”.

With preparedness, my visual encounter with real places and events I’d just read about, was immensely rewarding and awe-striking. I was well-versed in Skagway, Dyea, the Chilkoot trail, and why gold rush ‘stampeders’ had to traverse 33 taxing mountain miles in the absence of any transportation. There was no railway until 1899. After enduring these and being admitted into the Yukon by ‘North West Mounted Police’; a boat through perilous rapids was required the rest of the way. I gave 4 stars because there are no portraits of ultimate successes: locating gold. This book certainly deserves 4½.

This well-organized collection taught me three startling things. The worst sufferers of the White Pass trail’s condition in the gold rush’s first year were innocent, dear horses: 3000 of them! They were impaled on stumps or tripped, no matter the caution of their hardworking ascent. May they rest in peace! I didn’t know most claims were staked before the large influx arrived and people left without trying. It was a shame to read that tides ruined some prospectors’ supplies off-ship at Dyea, which bankrupted them before they could begin. Everyone who attempted any stage of this quest was brave.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

pictures are great