LAFAYETTE MAYNARD DIXON (1875-1946) SUNSET NOVEMBER / THANKSGIVING NUMBER. 1904.
26 1/4x17 3/4 inches, 66 3/4x43 3/4 cm. Sunset Press, [San Francisco.]
Condition B+: loss in lower left corner; creases and tears in margins and image and along vertical and horizontal folds; light water staining in margins. Hinged to mat at top edge. Paper.
Sunset magazine began publishing in 1898. Printed by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the magazine was an advertising vehicle to help promote the West as a place for tourists and settlers to the rest of America. The magazine played a crucial role in helping to formulate a national idea about the western United States. The name was taken from the railroad's train, the Sunset Limited, which ran from New Orleans to Los Angeles. On April 18, 1906, the great San Francisco earthquake completely destroyed the Sunset's offices, with all of the original art work, files etc., which may well explain why these posters are so rare.