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The W. E. Hook View, Stationery and Book Company : Original Photograph - Untitled [Donkey on Pikes Peak Cog Railway]

Original black-and-white photograph with sepia tones mounted on beige board. Photo shows a portrait of a donkey loaded with a pack of building materials on which an affixed sign proclaims, "I helped to build Pikes Peak Railroad." The donkey is posed on an incline and the rails of the famous railway. Faint photographer's watermark of W. E. Hook in lower-left corner of photo. Printed text on back promotes Hook's company and its views of Pikes Peak, Colorado scenery, and Mexico. Copyright date of October 14, 1891. Photo: 7 1/4" x 4 1/4." Board: 8" x 5." Photo is clean and intact overall but has slight surface rubbing and a few tiny chips affecting the image at the top, left, and bottom edges. Board is clean and intact overall but has darkening on front and back, slightly bumped and worn corners, and slight edge wear. A Very Good copy. A photograph by the W. E. Hook View, Stationery and Book Company that pays tribute to one of the original laborers who helped build the Pikes Peak Railroad, a donkey. The Pikes Peak Railroad, also known today as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, is unique in that it uses a cog or rack system to help trains climb and descend the steep slopes of Pikes Peak. Trains on cog railways utilize cog wheels that mesh with a rack rail to overcome grades of over 10% which is the maximum grade for friction-based railways. Construction of the Pikes Peak Railway began in 1889. The laborers were Italian immigrants who used only pickaxes and similar tools and donkeys for assistance. The first train made it to the summit on June 30, 1891. Beginning in 2019, renovations and repairs for the Pikes Peak Railway were made for safety reasons. The railway reopened on May 20, 2021 and is still open to this day. The W. E. Hook View, Stationery and Book Company was founded by William Edward Hook (1833-1908), an English-American photographer. In the 1860s-1880s, Hook traveled across the Midwest and western states to photograph local scenery. He traveled and worked out of places such as Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Missoula, Montana; Marquette, Michigan; Yellowstone National Park; Alberta; Northwest Territory; and the Canadian Northwest Rockies. Hook operated and closed several photography studios in his travels. In 1885, he founded a studio in Manitou Springs, Colorado. This began a period in which Hook focused on photographing and selling Colorado views. Over the years, Hook was joined by his family who had initially stayed in England. 1890 marked the year when Hook and his family relocated to Colorado Springs where he continued to operate a photography studio until his passing in 1908.. Photographic Image. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

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