Satirical lithograph on the defence of the California bank
1849
A hand-drawn political caricature published as the gold rush began, using the imagined 'California Bank' to mock the international scramble for the new wealth. The cast includes send-ups of James K. Polk, Napoleon the Third and Isabella the Second of Spain. Prints like this carried news of the strike to audiences who would never see the diggings.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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