The Alaska Gold Rush Letters and Photographs of Leroy S. Townsend: 1898-1899 - Softcover

This book is composed of a collection of 33 letters by Leroy S. Townsend, a medical doctor from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He came north in 1898 to Valdez to enter Alaska via the Valdez Glacier, along with 4,000 gold seekers. He brought a camera, and many of his photographs are published for the first time (59 photographs and illustrations in all). The book also contains an Introduction and Conclusion by Peggy Jean Townsend, a descendant of Dr. Townsend, an Historical Perspective by Alaska Historian Patricia Roppel, a Preface by Art Petersen, the General Editor, an Appendix of five parts, and a comprehensive Index. In the words of Alaska Historian Robert DeArmond, "A good piece of work and a real addition to the literature of this Klondike Centennial period."