On July 9, 1947, Look magazine ran a feature article on the fastest growing form of transportation in America: intercity buses. “Bus travel, according to the sworn word of many highway fans,” the author wrote, “is the best way to make a sightseeing holiday trip.”[1] The post-war boom in bus travel was indebted, in part,...

Seeking a way to beat the heat of summer while still looking cool? This 1870 print after a drawing by Winslow Homer suggests that more comfortable climes may require a bit of a climb. In this scene, a group of well-dressed urban men and women take in the views at the summit of Mount Washington,...

In the eighteenth century, many Italian artists produced views of popular tourist destinations to sell as souvenirs to travelers on the Grand Tour. This drawing by an unknown artist shows the Grotta Grande in the Boboli Gardens of Florence. Visible within the grotto’s chambers are Paris and Helena, sculpted in 1560 by Vincenzo di Rafaello...

One of the earliest areas where you see a social influence on wallpaper are designs with innovations in mobility. As people began exploring America’s scenic wonders in the 1820s, many Americans satisfied their wanderlust with river excursions, and the Hudson valley became a major destination. It was around this time manufacturers started printing designs that...

In recent decades, New Zealand and Middle-Earth have become almost inseparable in the popular imagination as Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novels, have put the isolated country on the world stage. But while the stories of Middle-Earth may be fantasy, the landscapes certainly...

From the eighteenth century, painted fans were one of the most popular souvenirs for any grand tourist visiting Italy. In this period, fans were part of the complex network of courtly behavior and aristocratic social codes, and they were also indispensable elements for coquetry. Such fans were made with a variety of materials such as...