Mohawk-Hobbs Grade and Surface Guide – Southern All Year Route to and from California

“The winter and all year route to and from Los Angeles is surprisingly good.” [pg. 2]

“The purpose of the Mohawk-Hobbs guides is to give you definite routings over the best roads; to bring points of unusual interest to your attention; to save money for you; to make your trip more enjoyable and educational; in short, a constructive effort to serve you in a way that will gain your good-will for Mohawk, and your favorable consideration for Mohawk Quality Tires.” [foreword].

In 1921, Howard Hobbs created his first innovative Hobbs Grade and Surface Guide. Issued on an annual basis until the early 1930s, the booklets were sponsored by the Mohawk Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio and covered one of America’s primary highways. At least 25 different routes were covered in tremendous detail. Each page of the guide presents a detailed diagram of the route’s elevation and surface composition, a small strip map, list of motorist’s amenities (lodging, garages, restaurants, etc.) and ‘intimate notes’ that provide a fascinating contemporary snapshot into automobile tourism of the early 20th century.

This example was published in 1926 and shows recommended year round routes between Southern California and the Southwestern U.S. In addition to the aforementioned information present on each page, the guide also includes key for use, a list of published routes, advertisements for Mohawk rubber products, an innovative mileage diagram, and a map of the route on the back panel. Interesting descriptions include that for Irvine, CA (pop. 75, 125,000 100 lb sacks of lima beans shipped annually) and Tombstone, AZ (This famous and notorious silver mining camp is now peaceful), among others.

More information on the Mohawk-Hobbs Guides can be found at my blog post here.