1931 Minnesota Tourist Bureau Pictorial Tourist Map of Minnesota
Minnesota-brownbigelow-1931$350.00
Title
Minnesota invites you to Live Work Play in the Playground of 10,000 Lakes.
1931 (undated) 31 x 21 in (78.74 x 53.34 cm)
1931 (undated) 31 x 21 in (78.74 x 53.34 cm)
Description
This is a 1931 Minnesota Tourist Bureau pictorial tourist map of Minnesota. This map was issued to promote both immigration and tourism to Minnesota. The map offers a playful but compelling message of hope and prosperity against the backdrop of the Great Depression.
The verso features promotional text and images, extolling Minnesota's natural beauty, economy, mineral resources, and industry. It also features a letter from the governor, Floyd B. Olson. Olson served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, when he died in office at the age of forty-four.
A Closer Look
Minnesota's famous fishing, while not expressly touted, takes center stage. Illustrations of fourteen different fish species 'swim' along the right border and facts about the piscine population are scattered throughout. White banners promote the 'largest freshwater inland lake in the U.S.,' the '11,007 lakes in Minnesota', and the state's annual dairy, barley, and raspberry production. The University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic are cited. State parks and an Indian reservation are illustrated next to references to resort hotels, tourist cabins, and '36 holes of golf'.The verso features promotional text and images, extolling Minnesota's natural beauty, economy, mineral resources, and industry. It also features a letter from the governor, Floyd B. Olson. Olson served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, when he died in office at the age of forty-four.
Publication History
This map was created and printed by Hiram Brown and Herbert Bigelow (Brown and Bigelow) of Saint Paul for the Minnesota Tourist Bureau. Although undated, the work is cited in lists of Minnesota government publications from 1931. Scarce.CartographerS
Hiram D. Brown (November 10, 1848 - April 17, 1905) was an American businessman and printer. Born in Lorraine, New York, Brown moved to Minnesota in the early 1860s. He then worked as a printer's apprentice in Lake City, Minnesota, and later in Red Wing, Minnesota. After his apprenticeship, he served as the publisher of the Lake City Sentinal for twelve years. Brown moved to St. Paul in 1881 and soon formed a business partnership with B.B. Herbert known as Brown and Herbert. This business later became Brown and Treacy, and was finally incorporated as the Brown, Treacy, and Sperry Company in 1901. At the time of his death, Brown was president of the Brown, Treacy, and Sperry Company and a senior member of Brown and Bigelow, which he founded with Herbert Huse Bigelow in 1896. Brown died of pneumonia. Brown and Bigelow, a printing firm based in St. Paul, is still in operation today. More by this mapmaker...
Herbert Huse Bigelow (May 18, 1870 - September 16, 1933) was an American businessman and printer. Born in Brookfield, Vermont, he moved to Iowa with his family at the age of thirteen. He later graduated from Grinnell College and worked as a calendar salesman after graduation. He founded Brown and Bigelow, a printing firm, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1896 with Hiram D. Brown. Bigelow was convicted of tax evasion in 1924 and sentenced two three years in Leavenworth Penitentiary, but only served eight months. During his time in prison, he made friends with Morris Rudensky, the infamous safe-cracker. After his release, Bigelow helped institute innovative convict rehabilitation programs at Brown and Bigelow, eventually hiring hundreds of ex-convicts. One of these ex-convicts, Charlee Ward, would eventually become president of the company. Bigelow served as the company's president until 1933 when he drowned in a lake, leaving an estate valued at $3 million. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Minor verso stabilization along some old fold lines. Promotional text on verso.
References
Lanegran, D., and Urness, C., Minnesota on the Map: A Historical Atlas, page 177.