Published in 1949, Franconia Notch Reservation—White Mountains, New Hampshire, invites readers on a lively tour through one of New Hampshire’s most celebrated landscapes. Written in the conversational style of a letter to a friend, the letter-booklet recounts a visit to Franconia Notch’s iconic attractions, including the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, the Old Man of the Mountain, Echo Lake, Profile Lake, and the Flume Gorge. Along the way, readers encounter colorful local stories—from Aunt Jess Guernsey’s discovery of the Flume to firsthand accounts of the devastating 1948 landslide on Mount Lafayette. Equal parts travel guide, promotional piece, and snapshot of postwar tourism in the White Mountains, it captures a time when Franconia Notch was emerging as one of New England’s premier destinations for sightseeing, recreation, and outdoor adventure.

Published in 1828, Martin Field’s “Notice of the Profile Mountain in New Hampshire” is among the earliest known published descriptions of the natural rock formation that would later become famous as the Old Man of the Mountain. Writing after a visit to Franconia in 1827, Field describes the Profile as a “rare phenomenon,” noting how the human likeness appears strikingly clear when viewed from the north yet vanishes almost immediately when seen from another angle. His brief account also provides an early description of the surrounding landscape, including Mount Lafayette, Franconia Notch, and the dense forests that covered the mountainsides. Written decades before railroads, grand hotels, and organized tourism transformed the region, the article offers a fascinating glimpse into how early nineteenth-century travelers and naturalists viewed one of New Hampshire’s most iconic landmarks.