Pictorially-illustrating auto travel through California - from Oakland to Tijuana with a bit of Oregon included as well - this rare and fascinating guide book utilizes the medium of photography...
Pictorially-illustrating auto travel through California - from Oakland to Tijuana with a bit of Oregon included as well - this rare and fascinating guide book utilizes the medium of photography as a tool for the California auto-traveler. The introduction promises “Actual photographs are taken over the windshield of an automobile, and show the road mile after mile AS THE DRIVER SEES IT.” Unlike other photographic guide books of the time, which generally presented a single large image, these offer a series of small format photos, laid out on the page like a film strip, visually recreating the driver’s experience.
Accompanying these photos are descriptions of the terrain (“Good road,” “Good, gravel road,” “oiled road not good,” “Rough, hard lava road”). There are also descriptions of the surrounding area, intended to act as a visual guide (“abandoned saw mill on left”) or informational for the traveler (“Redding has good machine shops”). Alongside the photographs are scores of advertisements for local hotels, garages, restaurants, etc.