Minnesota is supposed to be the land of 10,000 lakes (in fact, there are many more), and this 1924 booklet tells how to get to many of them and to the resorts that dot their shores. “When vacation time approaches and you begin to dream of pine woods, blue lakes, graceful birches, camp-fires and hungry, leaping fish, turn to these pages and decide what part of Minnesota appeals to you most strongly,” says the introduction in the wordy fashion that was typical of the age.

Click image to download an 11.2-MB PDF of this 40-page booklet.

The cover indicates that this booklet was issued by the Northern Pacific Railway along with the Minnesota & International Railway and the Big Fork & International Falls Railway. A centerfold map shows NP lines along with a Minnesota & International line from Brainerd to Big Fork and a Big Fork & International Falls line from Big Fork to International Falls. In fact, by 1924, both railways were owned by the NP though they continued to operate separately for several more years.

Unfortunately, neither the front cover painting nor one on the back cover, which is by the same artist but shows a different lake, are signed. The front cover painting displays the NP logo; in the same spot on the back is a “Minnesota and International Falls — Big Fork and International Falls — Sportsman’s Route” logo, which features a moose in place of the monad. The logos, the words “Minnesota Lakes,” and the names of the railways are hand lettered and appear to be part of the paintings rather than applied later.