An impressive Northern Pacific promotional brochure, built around a large and attractive relief map of Yellowstone National Park and extending the railroad’s sales pitch westward to Puget Sound and Alaska.

One side is occupied almost entirely by a large color-printed relief map of Yellowstone, visually organized around the great central lake and the tourist circuit linking Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Canyon, the Lake Hotel, West Thumb, and the geyser basins. The terrain is rendered in shaded relief; roads and trails are delineated by different line weights; and major landmarks and tourist amenities are labeled. At the far upper left, the line of the Northern Pacific is shown reaching to Cinnabar, just outside the entrance to the park. It’s a nice blend of promotion and visitor’s guide, presenting Yellowstone as a wilderness, but one that’s been rendered user-friendly and accessible to the target audience of upper- and upper-middle-class travelers.

The reverse side both elaborates on and broadens the pitch. The outer title panels have a striking Art Nouveau flavor, including what appear to be nymphs bearing magic wands. The other panels include descriptions of the Yellowstone tour, photographs of park scenery and hotel accommodations, tables of distances and elevations, and a small route map showing Northern Pacific connections to the Park. Significantly, several panels promote Alaska, including a long narrow map of the Pacific coast and a list of “Alaska excursions” via steamboat connections at San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. The effect is to suggest Yellowstone as the gateway to a much larger northwestern itinerary, for those with the time and money to take advantage.

Background
The brochure is an artifact of the Northern Pacific’s long and deep involvement in Yellowstone’s development. Northern Pacific interests helped publicize Yellowstone in the years immediately preceding its establishment. In 1883, when the line reached Cinnabar, just north of the park, access to the north entrance improved dramatically. From that point forward, Northern Pacific was not merely carrying passengers to Yellowstone; it was helping organize the entire tourist experience. Travelers arrived by rail, transferred to stage routes to enter the park, then progressed through a regular circuit of viewpoints, natural wonders, and comfortable accommodations that the railroad advertised as a coherent vacation product.

In 1886 Northern Pacific created the Yellowstone Park Association to take over hotel and related operations in the park. By the late nineteenth century, the company had become one of the chief players in Yellowstone tourism, helping convert the park from a remote scenic wonder into an accessible travel destination. In 1903 access improved still further when the line was extended to Gardiner, at the park’s northern entrance.

In all, an attractive and substantial piece of Northern Pacific ephemera, a cut above the usual railroad promotional fodder. 

References
Rumsey #4118 (map only, the text side not a match).