Goodrich Route Book San Francisco and Los Angeles Coast Route

Early 20th century guide to the roads along California’s Pacific Coast Highway.

“This Route Book is presented to the Tourist with the compliments of the B.F. Goodrich Company. It charts in map form the coast highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For 1915 the Touring Bureau of the B.F. Goodrich Company will prepare and published for early spring touring CALIFORNIA COMPLETE in three books – Northern, Central, and Southern.” [Foreword].

The B.F. Goodrich Company was founded in Akron, Ohio by Benjamin Franklin Goodrich in 1870. As the first rubber manufacturer west of the Appalachian Mountains, the firm got its start manufacturing hoses and belts for steam equipment and eventually moved into pneumatic bicycle tires. In 1896, the company produced the first pneumatic automobile tires in the United States and a new business segment was born.

To advertise its products to motorists and cyclists alike, as well as to aid in local navigation, Goodrich began creating branded signs; first along well-traveled routes in the Midwest but eventually expanding to the entire country. An additional component of the promotional campaign was the distribution of Goodrich Route Books to promote the newly marked trails. First printed in 1912, the pamphlets contain city plans and strip maps of the main roads, as well as pictorial and text advertisements for the company’s products. The location of Goodrich Road Markers is pinpointed throughout and shown on every page.

This example was printed in 1914 and shows the route along the Pacific Coast between Los Angeles and Paso Robles in California. Ten different maps show the primary paved roads according to an index map on the first page, while subsequent city plans show detailed outlines of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.

A rare and early piece of early American automobile ephemera that provides a fascinating overview of the Pacific Coast Highway. No copies identified in OCLC, but there is at least one previous auction record from PBA Galleries in 2021.

Sources: McHenry County DoT;  Ohio History Central; Example at PBA Galleries;