A miner rocking a cradle to wash gold from gravel

1883

A miner rocking a cradle to wash gold from gravel

Titled 'The Cradle', this Henry Sandham wood engraving shows the rocker box, a hand-worked wooden trough that let a small party wash far more gravel than a pan alone. It ran in The Century illustrated monthly magazine in January 1883 alongside other studies of gold-rush technique. The Library of Congress holds the print.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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