Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region
By M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson
Color — Hardcover - $40 – 8.5 x 11 — ISBN 978-1-933926-10-0 
The Mackinac Straits region with its scenic attractions natural wonders has beckoned visitors and tourists for over 150 years. Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region is a pictorial history of this northern Michigan vacation hub. The book uses “vintage views” to portray Mackinaw City, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, the car ferries, and the famous Mackinac Bridge.
The book focuses on the history of vacationing and tourism. The story is told using old newspapers, travel brochures, advertisements, maps, and messages from the backs of postcards. Quotations from these historical sources are paired with vintage photographs, postcards or illustrations, describing the scene as it was depicted at the time. These early promotional materials with their flowery language and exaggerated attributes were often a visitor's first exposure to the region. Postcard messages invite the contemporary reader to step back in time and take peek at someone else's vacation, sharing the joy with the visitor who wrote, “It's so beautiful here! Almost a dream world. Wish we could stay all summer. Are having the time of our lives.”
This book presents a glimpse of vacation life from early tourists visiting Mackinac Island in the 19th century to the boom in tourism when the Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957. “Vintage views” are presented of early hotels on Mackinac Island, mom and pop cabins of the 1940s and 50s and other tourist destinations and attractions. The spectrum ranges from natural wonders such as Arch Rock on Mackinac Island to the still-popular Mystery Spot.
The authors have visited this vacation hub of northern Michigan for many years and are fascinated by its unique history. Christine and Tom have long been interested in the history of tourism in Michigan and hope to impart their enthusiasm for the subject to the reader. They have drawn extensively from their own personal collection of postcards and travel ephemera, as well as using material borrowed from private collectors, archives, libraries and museums. As the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge is celebrated this year, the Mackinac Straits region continues to be one of the premiere vacation areas in Michigan. Anyone who has ever visited this region will be interested in this unique historical portrait.
The couple's two previous books, Vintage Views of Leelanau County (2002) and Vintage Views of the Charlevoix-Petoskey Region (2005) have both been selected by the Library of Michigan as Michigan Notable Books. |
