1975 Perine Promotional Pictorial View of Breckenridge, Colorado

Legendary Skiing Destination.

This is a 1975 promotional pictorial view of Breckenridge, Colorado, drawn by Jerli Perine and published by Pict-o-graph. It depicts the town as it was in the process of becoming a well-known skiing destination, a project begun in the early 1960s.

A Closer Look

This view is oriented towards the west, with the peaks of the Tenmile Range in the background. Streets are labeled throughout, as are ski trails at the top, some with amusing and/or ominous names including Adios, Psychopath, and Boneyard (all black diamond or double black diamond rated, being extremely steep and dangerous even to expert skiers). Buildings throughout the town are illustrated, including contemporary businesses and historic buildings, such as the Gold Pan Restaurant and Saloon, the 'oldest continuously operated saloon west of the Mississippi' (still in operation today). Unsurprisingly, multiple ski supply stores, resorts, and ski schools are included. Inset illustrations harken to the town's gold rush past and a group of men skiing in the 1880s. A text box at the bottom-right recounts the town's gold rush-era history, including the source of its name (Vice President John Breckinridge) and the change in the spelling of the town's name during the U.S. Civil War.

Historical Context

Breckenridge was founded as a gold rush town in 1859 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The town's population fell dramatically as the Gold Rush petered out, but new mining techniques in the early 20th century prevented it from becoming a complete ghost town. Breckenridge's fortunes were revived in the early 1960s, when the Summit County Development Corporation cut several trails and opened the Breckenridge Ski Resort on Peak 8. These early efforts saw success, attracting thousands of visitors annually, prompting the creation of more trails and resorts. By the mid-1960s, tens of thousands of visitors came to Breckenridge each year, and by 1970, the number had exceeded 100,000. By the late 1980s, more than one million visited the town each year, though its permanent population is still no larger than 5,000. Breckenridge is known for several annual festivals and for its well-preserved Victorian-era architecture, a legacy of its gold rush days.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by artist Jorli Perine and published by the Pict-o-graph Co., founded by Michael 'Mickey' Shemin. It is part of a series of views of resort towns and tourist destinations drawn or published by Shemin that included views of Aspen, Nantucket, New Hope, Pennsylvania, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. This view is not cataloged among the holdings of any institution, though the Library of Congress holds a 1978 edition.

Cartographers

Jorli Perine (March 12, 1948 - present) is a Southern California-based artist known for her realistic landscapes, seascapes, portrait, and still life paintings. Perine was born into an artistic family, with both parents being graduates of the influential Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. (Though the original institute was merged into the California Institute of the Arts in 1970, guided by Roy and Walt Disney, Perline's father Robert co-founded a foundation in the early 21st century that attempted to revive the school's original spirit, more avant-garde and free of corporate corruption, as he saw it). Jorli herself began drawing at a young age and studied art at Orange Coast College, Brigham Young University, and the Southern California Institute of Arts. In addition to her paintings, Perine illustrated the children's book Tisrah's Dream.   Further Details...

Michael 'Mickey' Phillip Shemin (January 5, 1950 - January 19, 2021) was an Aspen, Colorado, based publisher and illustrator who produced distinctive pictorial views of various U.S. towns and cities. Shemin was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. Beginning his career in advertising, he transitioned to journalism and publishing in 2001 when he founded the Bayonne Evening Star Telegram, a local newspaper that drew a following for its innovative art and strong opinions. Shemin moved to Aspen, Colorado, where he was known for his love of vintage brick-a-brack, coins, books, and stamps. He opened antique shops in Aspen and Cripple Creek specializing in antique books and prints. Sometime around 1970, he founded the Pict-O-Graph Company, which published maps of resort cities throughout the United States, but primarily in Colorado and Massachusetts. Although the work of multiple artists, the maps have a consistent, intricate, almost miniaturist style, combining elements of 19th-century bird's-eye views, complex decorative borders, and mottled or toned paper to achieve a 'vintage' look, sometimes highlighted with gold printing. The print runs were small, typically in the low hundreds. Later in life, he left Aspen to settle in Recoleta, a wealthy district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, he drew and issued his last map of Recoleta, of which we have identified no examples. Shemin died in Buenos Aires of liver cancer.   Further Details...

Condition

Fine.

References

OCLC 1378605720 (later edition).