SIXTEEN VIEWS OF OLD ST. AUGUSTINE

W. J. Harris Co., publisher

Souvenir of St. Augustine, Fla.: Oldest City in the United States [Accordion-Fold View Book — 16 Color Views — 1912]

St. Augustine, Florida: W. J. Harris Co., 1912.
ST. AUGUSTINE FOR THE EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY TOURIST.
An attractive 1912 accordion-fold souvenir presenting fifteen captioned color views of St. Augustine, combining Spanish colonial landmarks with Flagler-era architecture and tourist attractions, including Fort Marion, the Old City Gates, Fountain of Youth, Cathedral, hotels, lighthouse, and historic streets. A printed history accompanies the views, followed by a period description of the modern city, its institutions, amusements, golf links, and tourist attractions.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: AN ACCORDION-FOLD PANORAMIC SOUVENIR.
Accordion-fold view book measuring approximately 6.25 by 4.25 inches closed. Fifteen captioned color images plus a three-panel panorama of Fort Marion, together with printed historical and tourist information. Decorative pictorial outer panels with floral and geometric border. 

Published by W. J. Harris Co., St. Augustine, and printed by Curt Teich & Company, Chicago. Individual views include copyright notices of Harris Co.; the Fort Marion panorama is explicitly copyrighted 1912.

CONDITION: VERY GOOD. Carefully handled, with light, even age-toning. Accordion folds remain intact and the color views are clean and well preserved. Minor expected handling at edges and folds.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: ST. AUGUSTINE AS HISTORY AND TOURIST DESTINATION.
The souvenir captures the way St. Augustine was presented to visitors in the early twentieth century: simultaneously as an ancient Spanish city and a modern Florida resort. Colonial landmarks such as Fort Marion and the City Gates appear alongside the Ponce de Leon and Alcazar hotels, the lighthouse, churches, and recreational attractions.

W. J. Harris was an important St. Augustine postcard publisher whose images helped shape the visual identity of the city for generations of tourists. Florida Memory preserves numerous Harris views from this period and identifies examples from 1912 as printed in Chicago by Curt Teich.

SUBJECTS: St. Augustine Florida, Fort Marion, Castillo de San Marcos, W. J. Harris Co., Curt Teich Company, Florida Tourism, Florida History, Spanish Colonial Florida, Flagler Era, Early Florida Postcards, Florida Ephemera, Travel Souvenirs, View Books, Postcard History, Tourist Ephemera.

Item #22449

Price: $45.00