Picturesque Franklin, along with Picturesque Hampshire, were the first of a series of guide books about Western Massachusetts counties, published by the Northampton, Massachusetts, firm of Wade, Warner and Company. Picturesque Hampden followed in 1892, and Picturesque Berkshire in 1893. All of them featured photographs by Clifton Johnson (1865-1940), who was an illustrator, author, and photographer. His works include The Highways and Byways of the South, Along English Hedgerows, and children’s books like The Brave Tin Soldier. A number of his photographs have become classics, including some documenting African American life in the South in the 1890s. The “Picturesque” part of the series’ title was intended to invoke one of the most popular books published in the United States in the latter part of the 19th century: William Cullen Bryant’s Picturesque America (1872, 1874 and later editions).
Warner, Charles Forbes. Picturesque Franklin. Wade, Warner and Company, 1891. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l98-056/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.