Clason’s Oregon Green Guide

The final edition of Clason’s Green Guide to Oregon

According to some incredible research by Carl Liedholm of Michigan State University, the Clason Map Company of Denver, Colorado first started creating pocket guides in 1906, three years after its earliest maps were issued. These were focused on the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs, but would eventually broaden to encompass entire states. In 1908, the iconic green covers were introduced, and in 1920 the name ‘Green Guide’ was formally adopted. Liedholm states

“The Green Guides were a unique product of the Clason Map Company. They were pocket sized (approximately 4″ x 6”) guides that were published for many states and several cities. Each guide consisted of a booklet, ranging in length from 15 to over 60 pages with detailed information about the state or city, and one or more large maps that were pasted within the covers.

Each of the state guides included a commercial index of the cities and towns that provided information on their individual populations, elevations, industries, hotels, and banks. In addition, there was general information about the state that would be of interest to the traveler on such topics as state history, scenic wonders, national parks, roads, railways, and “interesting facts about the state.” Downtown city maps and pictures were incorporated into the textual descriptions.”

This is a fine example of the 1931 edition of Clason’s Green Guide of Oregon, the last year the company published the guidebooks. A double-sided folding map shows highlights in green the vast territories of National Forests, Parks, and Reserves, along with a basic transportation overview of the state.

The verso focuses entirely on the road system, using a variety of lines to differentiate between surface composition and State and U.S. Highways. The guidebook includes a street plan for Portland and its downtown district and a view of the capitol building at Salem, in addition to the aforementioned generalized contents.

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