1905 Automobile Club Map of Suffolk County, Long Island

The Automobile Club of America (fl. 1899 - ??) was originally founded by 25 men on June 7, 1899 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The ACA was the "pioneering club on motoring" and was also responsible for leading the Good Roads Movement, an effort to improve dangerous road and street conditions throughout the United States. The group was driven by not only a love for the fledgling automobile industry, but a desire to see it grow and expand beyond what others imagined. The ACA felt a large and influential body was needed to ensure the success and continued growth of the automobile community. They organized and encouraged automobile exhibitions, along with motor races and other varied automobile activities. At the time motorists faced trouble and harassment by many in the community, and the ACA worked to bring about understanding and acceptance of what many saw as "just a fad." The group grew and in time published numerous road maps, books, and other articles for motorists, bicyclists and aviators. More by this mapmaker...

George Hiram Walker (January 4, 1852 - November 14, 1927) was a Boston based publisher of books, views, and maps active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Springfield, Vermont, Walker started his life as a dry goods merchant but developed an active interest in publishing during the early 1870s. Walker began publishing in 1878 when he partnered with an unknown New York Firm. Two years later, Walker brought the operation in house by partnering with his brother, Oscar W. Walker, in the opening of a lithography studio at 81 Milk Street, Boston. Shortly thereafter the firm expanded to new offices at 160 Tremont Street, Boston. The Walker brothers produced a large corpus of works, most of which focused on travel and tourism in New England. Walker also established the Walker-Gordon Milk Laboratory with Dr. Thomas Morgan Rotch and Gustave Gordon. This interesting investment was based on the premise that infant deaths could be avoided by providing higher quality milk. The company eventually became a great success, producing a high-quality cow milk that closely resembled human breast milk. In the process the Walker-Gordon laboratory developed many of the dairy health standards that are still with us today. Walker married Irene L. Loud on March 25, 1885. Learn More...