Golden Gate, Sunset in the Yellowstone Park

This 1897 print was produced by Knapp & Co, a New York City based lithography printing company. It was common for early Yellowstone artwork and advertisements to blend different scenes together in one image in order to inspire visitation to the area. Titled “Golden Gate, Sunset in the Yellowstone Park,” the image features a stagecoach coming through the Golden Gate section outside Mammoth Hot Springs. Historians familiar with the print have suggested that the large stone to the left behind the stagecoach is intended to be the Pillar of Hercules, a boulder which has been continually removed and replaced throughout the various renovations and improvements to the Golden Gate Bridge of Yellowstone. The falls in the background is not the Rustic Falls of the Golden Gate section of the park, but rather the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Canyon.

In the foreground, a soldier rests against a bicycle. He wears the standard Army uniform worn in the parks during this era: a dark blue wool shirt, sky-blue trousers, canvas leggings, and shoes. Though unnamed, the man in the image bears a strong resemblance to photographs of Captain Moses Harris, the first military superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. The text on the stone reads: “The recollection of quality remains long after the price has been forgotten.” In the early days of the park, poachers and souvenir hunters posed a serious threat to the natural resources of the area. The US Army established a presence at Camp Sheridan, at the base of the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, in 1886 to help manage and protect the land. The first buildings of Fort Yellowstone were finished in late 1891. The bicycle in the image could be a nod to the volunteer Bicycle Corps of the 25th Infantry Regiment, who rode more than 300 miles from Fort Missoula to Fort Yellowstone in August of 1896.

Original Artist: N/A. Produced by Knapp & Co Litho

Year Published: 1897

Poster Size: 20in x 28in

Price Per Print: $42