In the early 1870s, armchair travelers snapped up copies of Picturesque America, a lavishly illustrated two-volume work celebrating the natural wonders of the United States. Edited by author and poet William Cullen Bryant, Picturesque America’s oversized volumes contain evocative descriptions and gorgeous images of — as its rather grandiose subtitle suggests — “The Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Forests, Water-Falls, Shores, Cañons, Valleys, Cities, and […]

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