DESIGNER UNKNOWNMONTAUK BEACH. Circa 1929. 25 1/2x19 3/4 inches, 65x50 cm. Winchell Publicity Service, New York. Condition A-: minor restoration and minor expert overpainting in margins. The development of Montauk in the mid-1920s was solely attributed to one rather extraordinary entrepreneur named Carl Fisher. Fisher almost single-handedly developed Miami Beach into an international destination for America's wealthiest families. In 1925, he turned his attention to Montauk, and he purchased the entire area- almost 10,000 acres, and began developing it. His vision was singular: he would create "A Miami of the North," so the wealthy could live by his slogan, "Miami in the Winter, Montauk in the Summer." His vast plan included a 200-room luxury hotel (The Manor), golf courses, a boardwalk, facilities for tennis, polo, archery, and golf, fox hunting and much more. He also created a deep harbor for large yachts by blasting an opening from the freshwater Lake Montauk to the sea. We can date this poster between 1929 and 1932 based on the following: on October 24, 1935, the East Hampton Star Newspaper reported that "The first deluxe Pullman Lounge Cars were put in service on the Long Island Railroad in 1929." Fisher was hit by intense financial difficulties after a hurricane struck his properties in Miami and then in the crash of 1929. By 1932, he was bankrupt and his empire had collapsed. This rare poster, a "Jazz Age" array of characters of characters seemingly straight out of The Great Gatsby, is one of only a few known examples.
