Illustrated Miners’ Handbook
As a horde of fortune seekers streamed toward the Rocky Mountains in 1859, they carried a little book to show the way. "The Illustrated Miners’ Hand-book and Guide to Pike’s Peak" rolled off a St. Louis press, the same year the “Fifty-Niners” joined the Pike’s Peak gold rush. Six by eight inches, with 75 pages and fold-out maps, the handbook slipped easily into a pocket or saddlebag — the perfect trail companion. Inside, firsthand accounts, local knowledge, and practical advice: what supplies and tools to buy, how to ford rivers, and where to find reliable merchants. It even suggested small comforts for the trail — soap, tobacco, and playing cards for passing the time. That kind of detail shaped more than journeys; it shaped economies. Each traveler who followed the guide toward the Rockies helped steer money, trade, and people into the region that would become Colorado.
About Colorado Postcards
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.
