Grand Canyon Outings Postwar Tourism Promotion • Santa Fe Railroad
réf. 21972Very Good. The Grand Canyon as Sold to America After the War A visually rich postwar promotional viewbook issued for the Santa Fe Railroad presenting the Grand Canyon as a premier national destination in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Produced by Rand McNallyMay 1946 it reflects the expansion of leisure travel and the railroad's continued effort to position itself as the gateway to the American West. The booklet combines dramatic photographic spreads with interpretive text including geological explanation travel logistics and seasonal appeal. Large panoramic canyon views images of tourist life and scenes of Navajo culture and regional travel create a layered visual narrative. The bold typographic cover and strong photographic content give it excellent display presence while its structure reflects the transitional moment between rail-dominated travel and the rising automobile era. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Photo-illustrated wraps. Format: Stapled self-cover booklet. Size: 8 by 9 inches. Pagination: 36 unnumbered pages. Illustrations: Extensive photographic plates throughout including full-page and double-page panoramic views. CONDITION: Very Good. Bindings are tight and secure. Text is clean; light even age-toning. Minimal handling wear. Faint vertical center fold typical for ephemera of this format. SCARCITY NOTE: This 1946 printing is not recorded in OCLC/WorldCat. Santa Fe Grand Canyon promotional booklets appear in institutional holdings across multiple dates but specific printings such as this are inconsistently cataloged and infrequently encountered in the trade. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE - Issued by the Santa Fe Railroad in partnership with Rand McNally a major producer of travel and cartographic material. By 1946 the Santa Fe had long been the primary rail carrier to the South Rim shaping national perception of the Grand Canyon as a structured tourist destination. This piece presents the Grand Canyon as both natural wonder and accessible experience carefully balancing awe with practicality. It illustrates how the Santa Fe Railroad framed the journey-integrating rail travel motor coach connections and curated tourist infrastructure into a seamless outing. The imagery emphasizes scale and spectacle while the text reinforces the Canyon's status as a national obligation to visit echoing Roosevelt's widely quoted sentiment. The result is both advertisement and cultural artifact documenting how mid-century America consumed landscape. SUBJECTS: Grand Canyon tourism Santa Fe Railway postwar American travel national parks promotion railroad advertising Arizona travel Travel Ephemera Railroadiana Western Americana. unknown
Blind Horse Books [ABAA - FABA] · États-Unis65,00 $US≈ 58,07 €
