An attractive chromolithographic edition of this 1903 bird’s-eye view of Lake Winnipesaukee by prolific Boston publisher George H. Walker.

By 1903 the Lakes and White Mountain regions of New Hampshire had become major tourist destinations, with a well-developed network of rail and steamer routes carrying visitors from Boston, New York and elsewhere, and grand hotels to house them on their arrival. Accompanying this development was a rich visual iconography revealed in maps and prints, such as that offered here.

This bird’s-eye view depicts the Lake Winnipesaukee, NH region as seen from an imaginary elevated viewpoint to the south, with Squam Lake at upper left and the White Mountains in the far background dominated by a snow-capped Mount Washington. In addition to the features of the spectacular natural landscape, the view depicts roads, the line of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and Center Harbor, Meredith, Wolfboro and other destinations. The lake’s many islands and the peaks of the White Mountains are identified using numbered and lettered keys, respectively.

The vast majority of examples of this view were printed as two-stone lithographs on thin paper, folded and tipped into card stock wraps, and have a rather dull appearance.  By contrast, the chromolithographic version offered here is vastly more attractive and far, far scarcer on the market.

George H. Walker & Co.
Established in 1880 George H. Walker & Co. “was the last important lithographic firm to be established in Boston in the nineteenth century” (Pierce and Slautterback).  An advertisement in the 1882 Boston Business Directory describes the firm as “publishers and lithographers” doing “engraving in all its branches, map engraving and photo-lithographing.” (Reps) Among other output, Walker issued atlases of Massachusetts and of Essex County, separate maps of Boston and its metropolitan area, and birds-eye views of Boston and tourist destinations such as Edgartown, Bar Harbor, Provincetown, Mount Washington, and Lake Winnipesaukee.