Map, Colorado, Pictorial, Rocky Mountain National Park, Richardson Rome, Vintage Print, 1938

Richardson Rome (1902 – 1981)
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rome Creations, Denver, Colorado: 1938
16.25 x 20 inches, image
17.75 x 23 inches overall
$900

A detailed whimsical pictorial map of the Rocky Mountain National Park, including Grand Lake and Estes Park. It is printed in bold tones of green, brown, and blue, black, and white. The map highlights well-known landmarks, including prominent lakes, mountain peaks, and notable sites of the region, often with humorous pun-oriented illustrations. Among the natural wonders are Longs Peak, Bear Lake, Dream Lake, and the Never Summer Range. Accommodations such as cabins, lodges, and hotels are depicted and labeled. The renowned Trail Ridge Road winds through the mountains near Harmony Guest Ranch, leading to the Trail Ridge Museum before crossing the continental divide. The map also features images of wildlife commonly found in Rocky Mountain National Park, such as elk, deer, mountain sheep, and even a bat. The “headwaters” of the powerful Colorado River are indicated, with the river flow in the Phantom Valley depicted as a personified water droplet running on legs “headed for the Boulder Dam,” now known as Hoover Dam. Extant examples of this map are found in different states or editions — the earliest 1938 — with variations in coloring. A later edition was published in 1948 for the Rocky Mountain Motor Company. The offered example bears the copyright “1938 Rome Creations Denver Colo” in the matrix, lower left and Rome’s signature in the lower right and is particularly rare in that it was not issued folded as is more typically the case.

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