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1936 General Drafting Map of New Hampshire Ski Trails
NHSkiTrails-generaldrafting-1936$150.00
Title
Map of New Hampshire Ski Trails 1936-7.
1936 (dated) 26 x 16.5 in (66.04 x 41.91 cm) 1 : 400000
1936 (dated) 26 x 16.5 in (66.04 x 41.91 cm) 1 : 400000
Description
This is a 1937 New Hampshire State Planning and Development Commission and General Drafting map of New Hampshire ski trails for the 1936-37 ski season.
A Closer Look
Numbered red dots mark 37 ski trails across the state - up from 29 in 1935. Each corresponds with an index on the verso. New Hampshire's highway network is illustrated with a mileage table in the upper left. The state's airports are also listed with their 'winter status' noted (open with plowed runways, open without plowed runways, and closed). A list of amateur ski clubs in the eastern United States appears along the right border. The verso features a detailed index of trails, with notes on access slopes, lengths, snow conditions, and more.Early Sport Skiing in the United States
Before the 1930s, skiing in the United States was more of a utilitarian way of getting around in winter than a sport. This began to change in the 1930s when as part of federal efforts to pull the country out of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps cut ski trails across New England - many in New Hampshire. In 1934, Dartmouth College legitimized the sport by hosting the first official downhill ski race in the U.S. on Mount Moosilauke. The New Hampshire State Planning and Development Commission jumped on board and began publishing maps and other advertising promoting the White Mountains and other New Hampshire ranges as a ski destination.Publication History and Census
This map was prepared in 1936 for the New Hampshire State Planning and Development Commission by General Drafting in anticipation of the 1937-38 ski season. We note no examples of this map in any collection except for a digital holding at Dartmouth.Cartographer
General Drafting Corporation (1909 - 1992) was one of the 'Big Three' publishers of road maps between 1930 and 1970, along with H. M. Gousha and Rand McNally. Founded in 1909, Otto G. Lindberg, an immigrant from Finland and the company's founder, began his business with a borrowed drafting board and a $500 loan from his father. At the time only twenty-three years old, Lindberg advertised his business as 'any and all general drafting' and was based out of 170 Broadway in New York City. Only two years later, in 1911, the firm secured its first contract from the American Automobile Association to make 'road maps'. Lindberg incorporated his business in 1914 and became its first Chairman of the Board, a position he held until his death in 1968. Lindberg persuaded Standard Oil of New Jersey to let him draw the 'best' road map of the state that they had ever seen, and Standard Oil would distribute it for free. Sufficiently impressed with the finished product, Standard contracted General Drafting to make all their road maps - a relationship that lasted another six decades. This relationship allowed General Drafting to work exclusively for Standard Oil, but when oil companies stopped providing free maps, General Drafting was in a bind. The company tried to expand into the retail map market, and it of course continued creating maps for Exxon (the new name for Standard Oil) to sell, but its returns continued to decline. The firm was purchased in 1992 by Langenscheidt and subsequently absorbed into the American Map Company. General Drafting's state maps became this company's 'Travelvision' lineup. More by this mapmaker...
Condition
Very good. Slight wear on old fold lines, with minor verso reinforcements at a few marginal fold spits.
References
OCLC 999478857 (digital holding).