Saturday, November 28, 2020

The Blue Book

 The Blue Book is where you find used car values, right? Well, not in 1906, when there weren't enough used cars to create a market or the demand for the Blue as we know it today.

 
In fact, since roadmaps didn't really exist, it was a travel guide.
 

It also provided some information regarding regulations. Remember, driver education and driving licenses did not exist yet.


And then finally, there is the general non-existence of good roads and uniform signage.  For example, this description of the northern Virginia suburbs is interesting:
  • The road described as leading to Manassas is almost certainly route 7, but it had not been given a number. 
  • Manassas is west of Alexandria. Both are good size cities now.
  • It seems not even one car made the trip from Washington DC to Richmond each year. Now, it would be one car every few tenths of a second.



I wish I could read through this with my grandfather (born 1898). He was learning to drive during this period, driving logging trucks without a license. The sections on Pennsylvania, where he lived often said things like "turn left at the large oak tree 2 miles past the church," in areas where we now drive the Pennsylvania Turnpike at over 70 MPH.
 


1 comment:

  1. Pennsylvania directions are still very much like that... turn left at the red barb.. oh wait - it has been repainted. I think it’s white now...

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