Daytona: The Birth of Beach Driving

[Daytona Beach Hotel Company] ; [Origin]

The Despland, Daytona Florida [Florida Land Boom Tourism Promotion] [c. 1921]

Boston: Amsterdam Agency, Inc., c. 1921.

A striking pre-boom Florida resort promotion presenting Daytona as 'The Prettiest Winter Resort in the World.'

Produced during the explosive tourism expansion of the early 1920s, this brochure serves as a primary visual record of Daytona’s world-famous automobile beach culture. Through panoramic photography and elegant typography, the work markets the Despland Hotel as a flagship destination for northern travelers, blending the allure of 'ocean bathing' with the modern luxuries of steam heat and electric lighting.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Visuals: Illustrated throughout with photographic views including a panoramic scene of early motorcars on the hard-packed sands; aerial views of Casino Burgoyne; and detailed hotel interior/lobby shots. 
+++ Binding: Stapled pictorial wraps featuring a tonal illustration of the hotel exterior. 
+++ Content: Promotional text detailing resort amenities (elevator service, telegraph office, barber and manicure parlors) and regional attractions like the Concrete Bridge across the Halifax. 
+++ Imprint: Amsterdam Agency, Inc., New York and Boston. c. 1921. 
+++ Specs: 9 x 6 inches; 20 pages. 
+++ Provenance: Includes a contemporary travel bureau stamp: 'R. Bonfield’s Jacksonville Travel Bureau' inside the front cover.

CONDITION: Very Good. Bindings are tight and square. The text block is clean with light, even age-toning. The wraps show moderate shelf handling and visible age spotting along the upper portion of the front cover. Interior photographic images remain clear, high-contrast, and well-preserved.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Early Automotive Culture: Captures the 'hard-packed' shoreline that allowed automobiles to be driven directly on the beach, a feature that defined Daytona’s international identity.
+++ Distribution Network: The Jacksonville Travel Bureau stamp provides rare evidence of the internal Florida tourism infrastructure during the lead-up to the 1920s land boom.
+++ Scarcity: Institutionally scarce; OCLC locates only a single holding at the University of Virginia.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — 
The Despland Hotel was a cornerstone of Daytona’s early resort era, catering to an elite class of northern travelers arriving via rail and steamship. This brochure reflects the emerging 'Florida Aesthetic' in advertising—prioritizing palm landscapes and modern conveniences to lure investors and seasonal residents. It stands as a vital primary document of the promotional machinery that fueled the state’s rapid demographic shift in the early twentieth century.

SUBJECTS: Daytona Beach Florida, Florida Land Boom, Early Automobile History, Resort Advertising, Halifax River Region, Jacksonville Travel Bureaus, Florida Tourism Ephemera, American Travel Promotion, Hospitality Advertising, Floridana

Item #21718

Price: $125.00