1939 Lynch Photo Portfolio Book / Map of Sunset Islands, Miami Beach, Florida

This is a 1939 Sunset Island Company and Stephen A. Lynch Jr. pictorial portfolio and map of the Sunset Islands, Miami Beach, Florida. This promotional volume was published in a limited edition for Sunset Islands property owners (and prospective owners). The present example, signed by Lynch and Mobley, was presented to the Belgian nobles Baron and Baroness Gerard L. de Nieuwenhove. A spiral bound volume features photographs of fabulous Sunset Islands estates. A plat map signed by Mobley accompanies the portfolio, along with a typewritten letter on Lynch Jr.'s letterhead to the Baron and Baroness.

The Sunset Islands

The Sunset Islands are four man-made islands in Biscayne Bay just north of the Venetian Islands, Star Island, Palm Island, and Hibiscus Island. They were the brainchild of early motion picture mogul turned Miami real estate developer Stephen Andrew Lynch (1882 - 1969). The islands were initially built in the 1920s, at the height of the Florida Land Boom. They were platted in 1925, the canals dredged in 1926, and the bridges constructed between 1927 and 1929. When the Great Depression caused the Florida Land Boom collapse, the Sunset Islands had been fully landscaped, but remained otherwise undeveloped. Recognizing the cyclical pattern of the economy, and flush with Hollywood cash, Lynch held off further development. In 1936, Lynch told the Miami Herald that '… the islands were held off market until this year, when conditions deemed that the property be offered for public sale.' Nonetheless, Lynch constructed his own lavish mansion at the southwest corner of Island no. 2. Further development did not follow until the markets rebounded in the late 1930s - hence this publication.

Publication History and Census

This portfolio was published and privately printed in 1939 in a limited edition by the Sunset Island Company. Stephen A. Lynch Jr. and Cecil Mobley played a crucial role in its production. The present example is no. 76. We are aware of examples as high as no. 147. We note five examples cataloged in OCLC which are part of the collections at the Cleveland Public Library, Duke University, the University of Central Florida, Florida International University, and the University of Miami.