Photograph makes the connection to an epic rail painting

An oversize 1881 albumen photograph of Thomas Hill’s painting 'The Last Spike', depicting the instant of the creation of the first continental railroad in the US, rolled to a five-figure sum at Freeman’s (28% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

Guided at $300-500 at the sale on July 17, it hammered for $14,000 (£10,450).

The albumen print, …

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