The original CPR poster from the 1880s - Date unknown Nick Procaylo.

Vancouver British Columbia - The population of western Canada in 1883 was about 125,000.
 
But where most would have seen a vast, empty, wilderness, the Canadian Pacific Railway saw "The Golden Northwest, a home for all people".
 
It promoted its vision with a colourful poster declaring the C.P.R. was "The Grand Transcontinental Highway from the Cities of the East to Winnipeg and Manitoba's Boundless Wheatfields."
 
The Roman goddess Ceres gave her approval by posing in the poster, a scythe and a stack of wheat in her left arm, a torch held aloft by her right.
 
The torch beamed light on the Golden Northwest and the C.P.R. line, which went from coast-to-coast.
 
In fact, the Last Spike completing the western end of the line at Craigellachie wasn't driven until 7 Nov 1885.
 
Vancouver Island also seems to have vanished in the depiction of the Golden Northwest.
 
Accuracy aside, it's a beautiful image, a classic piece of Canadiana.
 
And on 27 Jun 2015 a rare original copy of the poster will be auctioned by Vancouver's All Nations Coins and Stamps.
 
Brian Grant Duff of All Nations said somebody recently found the three-foot-tall one-foot-wide poster on Vancouver Island, discovered it was rare, and decided to put it up for sale.
 
The poster is a bit rough, there are several creases, which indicate it was folded at one point.
 
There have also been a couple of crude attempts at restoration.
 
But the colours are still vibrant, 132 years after it was printed, and the crinkles actually give a little more character.
 
It looks old, a feeling enhanced by its frame, which appears to be from the 1940s.
 
"A poster like this in great condition is probably worth a thousand bucks," said Grant Duff.
 
"I'm estimating it at $500. We just don't know how many of these have survived."
 
The poster was done by the American Bank Note company in New York, one of the top lithographers of the time.
 
Grant Duff points out that C.P.R. bigwig Cornelius William Van Horne is identified as the general manager of the railway on the bottom, his job title while he was supervising the C.P.R.'s construction.
 
Grant Duff loves the wonky globe, which seems to have been drawn by someone who had no idea what western Canada actually looked like.
 
"The map is terrible," he laughs.
 
"Hudson's Bay doesn't look like it's connected to anything, Vancouver Island is missing, and Newfoundland and the Maritimes are either not there or mis-shapen.
 
"It's almost like they hadn't made the transition from the 19th century maps. Maybe the railway was going to reveal it all."

John Mackie.

OKthePK Joint Bar Editor:  Article abridged - non-railway data removed.