[Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce]

Florida Delightful Daytona, Florida: [1920s Promotional Real Estate & Tourism Brochure]

A remarkably scarce survivor from the 'Florida Land Boom' of the 1920s. Printed by the prestigious Record Company in St. Augustine, this promotional piece was designed with a dual-purpose strategy: while the front panels lure the tourist with the world-famous beach and surf, the inner panels pivot sharply toward permanent settlement, homeownership, and commercial investment.

Unlike later post-war brochures that focused almost exclusively on family vacations, this "Land Boom" artifact treats Daytona as a viable, year-round "Metropolis of the Florida East Coast," making it a vital primary source for Florida urban development history.

KEY FEATURES:
+++ Description: St. Augustine, FL: Record Company, Printers, n.d. [circa 1925–1928]. First Edition. Folding Brochure. Octavo-sized 8-panel brochure (16 total sections); 3 x 6 inches (folded), opening to a panoramic 6 x 24.5 inches. Color illustrated wraps.
+++ The Print History: Published by The Record Company, St. Augustine, a firm celebrated in the 1920s for its high-quality county histories and regional promotional literature. 
+++ The 'Hard Sell': Beyond tourism, the text explicitly promotes Daytona for 'Business and Professional Men,' citing agricultural opportunities, retail growth, and the city's status as a hub for 'Home-Builders.' 
+++ Visuals: Features high-quality rotogravure-style monochrome and tinted photography showing the iconic driving beach, early resort architecture, and civic infrastructure. 
+++ Scarcity: No single copies located in OCLC (WorldCat) or major institutional databases at the time of cataloging. A rare ephemeral survivor of the Florida pre-Depression boom. 
+++ Specs: 16 distinct sections total (front and back of 8 panels).

CONDITION: Very Good. A superior copy of a fragile ephemeral item. Carefully handled with no tears, splits, or separations at the folds. Modest, even age-toning to the paper stock as expected; color on the cover panels remains vibrant and crisp. Faint tide-mark on panel 2-3.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The 1920s in Florida were a fever dream of development, and Daytona was at the center of the storm. This brochure captures the moment before the 1926 hurricane and the 1929 crash, a time when the 'Daytona Beach' brand was being solidified. It represents the transition of Florida from a frontier to a curated tropical paradise designed for the Northern middle class.

The emphasis on home-buying rather than just hotel stays is the "smoking gun" of the Land Boom era. It reflects the efforts of the Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce to stabilize the local economy by attracting permanent capital rather than just seasonal visitors.

SUBJECTS: Florida Land Boom, Daytona Beach History, Real Estate Promotion, 1920s Tourism, St. Augustine Printing, Urban Development, Volusia County, Ephemera, Promotional Brochure, Americana, Florida History.

Item #21544

Price: $85.00