Monterey Peninsula, The: A Postcard Journey [Hardcover]

Burl Willes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2005

The Monterey Peninsula, A Postcard Journey features more than 300 postcard reproductions, most in full color and many published here for the first time. The Del Monte Express, a branch line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, brought the first visitors to the Monterey area in 1880. Guests stayed in the newly-built Hotel Del Monte, one of the finest seaside resorts in the world, marveled at the scenic beauty of nearby Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and Carmel, and viewed the picturesque Chinese fishing communities that existed here until 1906. See the region as those first tourists did with The Monterey Peninsula, A Postcard Journey, and revisit the most historic spots in Monterey, including Pacific Grove, Carmel, Point Lobos, Tassajara and Big Sur.
Burl Willes has written numerous travel books, including Undiscovered Islands of the Caribbean and Undiscovered Islands of the Mediterranean (with co-author Linda Lancione Moyer). His book Tales from the Elmwood, A Community Memory received the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation in 2001 and Picturing Berkeley, A Postcard History earned an Award of Excellence in 2003. He lives in Berkeley.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Burl Willes has written numerous travel books, including Undiscovered Islands of the Caribbean and Undiscovered Islands of the Mediterranean (with co-author Linda Lancione Moyer). His book Tales from the Elmwood, A Community Memory received the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation in 2001 and Picturing Berkeley, A Postcard History earned an Award of Excellence in 2003. He lives in Berkeley.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Almost mid-way along the California coast, the Monterey Peninsula is a place of unsurpassed beauty. An immensely deep offshore submarine canyon and magnificent kelp beds have created an ecosystem found nowhere else on earth. Sea-borne fogs during the summer provide the extra moisture to sustain the Gowen cypress, the lichen-covered Monterey pines and the twisted Monterey cypress that perch dramatically on rocks along the shore...
Early on, commerical photographers captured the Peninsula's scenic charm, and their photographs were sold in the galleries of the Hotel Del Monte. Postcard photographers and publishers found an eager and enthusiastic market for their work. In 1905, photographer Dan Freeman (1876-1962) photographed the schooner Gipsy when it ran aground at McAbee Beach, Monterey. He sold $300 worth of postcards in less than a week. His studio in Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove was still operating two years later when Congress passed regulations which permitted "divided backs,"allowing the address and message to appear on the same side of the card. This change initiated an explosion in postcard publishing that became known as the "Golden Age of Postcards." Any unusual local event or celebration--a big storm, a shipwreck, the unveiling of a monument--was a postcard opportunity. Prints made one at a time from photographic negatives were known as real-photo postcards. These black-and-white postcards were issued in modest quantities due to the more difficult and expensive production. A real-photo postcard of one's Pacific Grove cottage, for example, mighte be issued with no more than a dozen copies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (March 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586857835
• ISBN-13: 978-1586857837
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,796,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars My friend loved it, April 28, 2009

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This review is from: Monterey Peninsula, The: A Postcard Journey (Hardcover)

I bought this for a friend who doesn't have a computer. She was thrilled with it, having grown up in California. Her parents were married in Monterey and have lots of wonderful stories of how it was in the old days.

I was very pleased with the quality and condition of this book. It arrived when expected. No problems with the seller at all.