Collection of Eight Antique Mining Ore Bags Including Several from Darwin, California and New Coso Mining Company
Collection of Eight Antique Mining Ore Bags Including Several from Darwin, California and New Coso Mining Company
Condition of bags range from fair to very good. Further details within descriptions below. Please examine all photos.
Lot #1--Large canvas ore bag with a slightly finer weave than the older c1875-1880s ore bags from the New Coso mining Co. in this sale (Lucky Jim and Christmas Gift mines.) approximate date, c 1885-1910. 21" x 32", also a bit larger than the older ore bags. This bag is marked "T.B. Keeler" in black block print. The marking is newer, possible during the Darwin Development Co. period, circa 1915. Underprint for the specific mine is present but is difficult to read. The bag has a 1 1/2" wide red stripe vertically up the middle of the bag. Perhaps different lighting techniques can allow for reading the mining company name.
Lot #2--Three ore bags from the Darwin mines from the Palazzo Collection. Two are the classic coarse weave bags c 1875-1885, and one slightly finer, c 1890-1910. All three have markings that are difficult to read or interpret. The bags probably were found in the New Coso mines of Lucky Jim and Christmas Gift, as were others so marked. One has an indecipherable mining company name. Others with initials of either a mine or the miners. Only one has the blue stripe across the middle, this bag marked "I. B.". One marked "H.G.G." (no, not C.G. which would have been Christmas Gift). bags vary slightly in size, appx 14 x 22".
Lot #3--An antique ore bag from the New Coso Mining Company of Keeler, California, dating from c.1870s-1880s. The bag has a coarse weave with some noticeable wear and fraying at the mouth, as well as some spots of wear near the top. It has a heavily faded horizontal blue stripe as well as the text "NEW COSO / MINING CO / KEELER CA" printed in red ink (all words illegible except 'Coso'). As color coding was used by some mining companies to indicate grade of ore, this blue stripe may have served a practical purpose. Illegible black text, likely originally reading "DARWIN DEV. CORP." is printed over the original label. Reverse side has large, handwritten text reading 'B4', likely marking the origin of the contents.
Lot #4--An antique ore bag from the New Coso Mining Company of Keeler, California, dating from c.1870s-1880s. The bag has a coarse weave with some wear and fraying at the mouth. It has a vertical blue stripe running up the side of the bag as well as the text "NEW COSO / MINING CO. / KEELER CA" printed in red ink (heavily faded, 'NEW COSO' is legible). As color coding was used by some mining companies to indicate grade of ore, the blue stripe may have served a practical purpose.
Lot #5--An antique ore bag from the New Coso Mining Company of Keeler, California, dating from c.1870s-1880s. The bag has a coarse weave with some noticeable wear and fraying at the mouth. It has a heavily faded horizontal blue stripe and the text "NEW COSO / MINING CO / KEELER CA" printed in black ink (heavily faded; "KEELER CA" is totally illegible). As color coding was used by some mining companies to indicate grade of ore, this blue stripe may have served a practical purpose. Reverse side has large, handwritten text reading 'B4', likely marking the origin of the contents. It also has the words "DARWIN DEV. CORP" printed in black, added after the mines' acquisition in 1915.
Lot #6--An historic burlap ore bag with bold black 1.5" tall printing on front: "Darwin Dev. Corp," printed over "New Coso/Mining Co/Darwin, Cal." printed in black 1" tall letters, and a 2.25" wide faded black line down the side, c1870s-80s. It is apparently a reused bag originally from the New Coso Mining Co., a company which formed in the 1870s. The approximately 14.5" x 22" coarse burlap bag would have held silver or lead ore from Darwin Development Corporation, which formed after the Darwin Development Company consolidated the Lucky Jim, Promontory, Lane, and Columbia mines and began the construction of a mill on the Lane property in 1915. It is not known what the black stripe signifies, but some mining engineers used color coding to indicate the grade of the ore. Lettering is running together and difficult to read, there is a 2" hole at front top and a 4" hole at top rear, otherwise in very good condition for its age.
Nice collection of 100 plus year-old ore bags from several famous California mines. Too bad they are empty. Additional shipping required due to weight. Item #2275
Price: $450.00