"Goodrich Route Book San Francisco and Los Angeles Coast Route",

This 16-page route book consists of 15 single-page maps including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and maps of the main roads along the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The maps locate the Goodrich Road Markers along the way with small encircled "G" symbols. In 1910 Goodrich began installing road signs throughout the U.S.; by 1917 Goodyear had installed its easily seen 10 foot signs along 110,000 miles of road. Following Michelin’s lead in Europe, Goodrich also began to issue route books for tourists, highlighting the Goodrich signs and providing specific directions. This example is an early effort by Goodrich to produce a route guide. The foreword notes Goodrich’s plan to issue separate route guides for Northern, Central and Southern California in 1915, which it did in a more comprehensive format for several years. Goodrich stopped installing signs in 1920 and stopped issuing its route books and maps at about the same time map publishers and oil companies entered the market.

No examples of this route book appear in OCLC, which shows a few titles of other routes.

References: Harp (A World History of Rubber) p. 66.

Condition: B+

There is uniform light toning and some minor staining around the staples. One leaf is loose.