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Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak Region – “Come Up to Cool Colorado Springs”
This decorative pictorial map and fold-out brochure presents a lively bird’s-eye cartoon of the Pikes Peak highway from Colorado Springs through Manitou Springs to the summit, dotted with stylized landmarks: the Broadmoor Hotel, Garden of the Gods, the cog railway, Cripple Creek mining district, and the Royal Gorge turn-off. Playful vignettes—bears, bighorn sheep, golfers, polo players, anglers, and skiers—advertise year-round recreation, while a bold compass rose features Pikes Peak at its hub. On the verso, the text pages promote “Sports in the Peak Region,” Monument Valley Park, Prospect Lake, and other civic amenities, illustrated with halftone photographs.
The open-top roadster shown at upper left resembles late-1930s/early-1940s American convertibles with pontoon fenders and split windshield; coupled with the mid-century cartoon style, fedora hats, and pillbox cap fashions, the piece most plausibly dates to the immediate post-war tourism boom, circa 1948-1952.
While the artwork is unsigned, the color scheme and style is very similar to other works by Harold Wolfinbarger, who created similar pictorial map themed advertising brochures in Colorado on the late 1940s and 1950s.
A bright, period-perfect example of mid-century American pictorial cartography aimed at the motoring vacationer.
