travel guide

Published in 1886, Wonderland was a free guidebook promoting travel via the Northern Pacific Railroad to the minimally developed and gloriously natural northern territory of the United States between the Mississippi Valley and Alaska. Wonderland includes a reference to a previous journey through Alaska made by E. Ruhamah Scidmore, who published a travel guide titled Alaska, its Southern Coast and the Sitkan Archipelago in 1885.

John Randolph Spears (b. 1850) was a well-traveled journalist at turn of the century, eventually writing nearly a dozen books, primarily on nautical and maritime themes. This early title is about the land, sea, flora, fauna, and cultures of South America’s southernmost region. The “gold diggings” from the title are mostly done on the east coast of Tierra del Fuego, where, after heavy storms, gold shows up on the black sands. The quest for gold often creates conflicts with indigenous communities of the area, which Spears takes great care to describe with sensitivity (for the times).

One of a series of travel guides written by Perry Mason author Erle Stanley Gardner, this book documents a fun-filled search for the “Lost Dutchman” and “Lost Nummel” mines in Arizona in 1965. The team utilized helicopters, jeeps, desert buggies, and mules in its search, which is captured in many photographs. The book also includes biographies of the search team members. It documents a bygone era of exploration and a form of adventure with wide appeal.