1919 - Six black and white photographs of the Pacific Coast Borax complex located at Death Valley Junction, California

Each of these six photographs measure 5 3/4" x 3 3/8". All are captioned. Four are dated "1919" in their margins. One is dated "Thanksgiving 1919" in the margin. All have minor edgewear and light soiling; one bears a chip to the lower right margin not affecting the image. All have small pieces of black scrap book page remnants affixed to the reverse.

The photographs are of different sections of the Pacific Coast Borax (PCB) complex at Death Valley Junction.

1. "Mt at D.V. Jct. Thanksgiving 1919"

2. "Mill PC. B. D.V. Calif."

3. "Cp of P.C.B. D.V., Calif 1919"

4. "P.C.B. Camp. Death Valley. Jct. 1919"

5. Station. Death Valley Jct. 1919"

6. "P.C. B. Co. D.V. 1919"

The "Baby Gauge" Railroad, visible in some of the photographs was an ore-gathering extension of the Death Valley Railroad, which was itself an extension of the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad. This extension was built by the Pacific Coast Borax (PCB) company to reach mines and claims just over the Greenhorn Mountains that rose above Death Valley. Before cresting the mountains and ending at the Biddy McCarty Mines, the railroad passed by the Played Out Mine. Construction of this railroad began in December 1914, beginning at the Death Valley Railroad's ore bins. It ran by "Poison Rock" to the Grand View Mine, Lizzie Oakley Mine, and Widow Mine, eventually reaching a length of more than five miles that included four tunnels and several spectacular bridges as it ran along the wall of Corkscrew Canyon. After the mines were closed, the railroad was used for tourist excursions.

(For more information, see Hees's "'Baby Gauge' Railroad. Pacific Cost Borax Company" at the Pacific Coast Narrow Gauge website.)

At the time of listing, no other pre-tourist photos of the PCB complex or its Baby Gauge Railroad are for sale in the trade. None are listed as having appeared at auction by the Rare Book Hub, and OCLC identifies none held by institutions.