The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1891-06-17
RAILWAY LITERATURE
THE GUIDE BOOKS THAT ARE PUB
LISHED BY RAILROADS.

LISHED BY RAILROADS.
Vast Sums Are Spent I'm Hiring Capable
Writers and Exceptional. Artists Co Re-
produce Scenery for Costly Volumes to
Advertise the Line.
The greatest rivalry among railroad
men is in the getting out of guide books.
Several years ago rich southern rail-
road published luxuriously gotten up
book ashandsome as almost any example
of rich edition of Shakespeare that men
and women display upon parlor center
table. It was thought then that the
limit of enterprise and expenditure had
been reached. and that there never would
be anything finer bearing the imprint Of
general passenger Office
But that elegant volume is almost for
gotten now. It's defects were that its
pictures were ready made, and repre-
sented q low grade Of art, while the
letter press, or reading matter, was the
work of the general passenger agent---a
clever man but not professional writer.
Today no such pictures and no such
writing Is accepted for representative
guide book.
A school Of artists has grown up to
meet the demand for such work, and
they are salaried by the big printing and
bank note engraving companies that get
out these books They produce careful,
artistic and clever pictures, and manage
to give them the appearance of the
choicest pictures in the magazine.
As a matter Of fact. the latest guide
books are limitations OF the magazine in
every particular except that they in
clude no advertising pages. But the
more wealthy railroads viii not employ
these professional guide book illustrat-
ors They secure high class artists who
are too independent to sign their names
70 what they do, but provide the best
work of which they are capable, because
they are better paid for il than for any
other work that they do.
BIG PRICES PAID FOR WORK.
Men who study such matters are able
to recognize the personality Of the art
lists In their methods Of drawing, and
such persons often see painting or a
study OF picturesque place in one of
the art galleries or at an art sale at the
same time that they receive copy Of
some guide book illustrating other beau
ty spots in the same region in o set Of
drawings by the very same artist, who
has been whirled hither and thither in
that part Of the country in special car
ut the expense of the railroad company
that monopolixes the traffic.
In that same car with the artist goes
the general passenger agent, but he NO
longer writes the matter in the book.
he has secured the services of some
well known literary man Of the second
or third class to describe the region with
his pen for higher rate OF remunera-
ton than the writer could get for any
other work. Two thousand dollars is
below the highest price that has been
paid for the illustrations In single guide
book, and in all probability no first class
book of the kind has been written for
less than $500.
These books have been poured from
the presses of the best printers in the
country in editions of from 1000 to TO-
900 copies, and have cost the railroads
from five to twenty cents copy. Some
are designed to appear like novels, some
like stories Of adventure and some like
books of travel Their titles are such as
are likely to prove attractive to large
bodies of citizens.
Not to quote any one of them, but to
show what sort of bait they throw to
the public, they may be said to be named
In some such way as these: Where to
Camp Out" Where to Go This Sum-
mer," Three Days and Thousand
Trout, Hunting the Mountain Goat, !"
"Pure Air and .Balsam Pines, Country
Board" Cheaper Than Staying Home"
One enterprising western railroad man
has issued a little book on etchings, ex-
quisitely printed. and made to close up
into large envelope tied with satin
bow knot.
SOME NOTABLE PECULIARITIES.
Some OF the very best map making
that has been done in this country has
grown out of the competition in guide
books. Just at present the rage is for
birds eye, views, however, and these are
cleverly made to show every hill and
stream and village and patch Of forest
in vast areas of country. They all omit
every indication of marsh land, and all
are printed with green ink, in order to
produce the most astonishing effects
of universal greenery. shade and cool
ness.
It is noticeable characteristic of all
them that they show only one railroad,
never any more. No guide book pub
ished exhibits Chicago as accessible by
more than one railroad, and enormous
tracts Like North Dakota and Utah are
made to appear to depend upon single
Line Of rails for their means of internal
traffic. In such maps railroads seem to
reach degree Of perfection that is not
noticed by those who travel most upon
them.
For instance, they are always straight,
direct lines from point to point, precisely
like the great highway that Nicholas
marked down upon the map of Russis
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