John M. Way, Jr.'s Guide to Moosehead Lake

The original sportsman's guidebook to the Maine woods:

Way, John M, jr, Guide to Moosehead Lake and Northern Maine, Bradford and Anthony, 1874.



Way's humble book was the first guidebook to Moosehead Lake. This is by far the rarest of the guidebooks listed here and must have been printed in a very limited press run. OCLC's Worldcat lists just 13 copies in libraries - mostly at various Maine colleges and universities.

The book itself is very cute. It is about 3 1/2 inches by 5 inches in a lovely blue cloth binding. The book is slim, with just 66 pages of text and 20 pages of advertisements. The accompanying map (missing from the copy I inspected) was in a pocket in the rear of the book.

It has been said that Way's map was heavily used by Lucius L. Hubbard in the creation of his Map of Moosehead Lake.

The Maps of Thomas Sedgwick Steele

Steele, Thomas Sedgwick and W. R. Curtis, Map of Moosehead Lake and the Headwaters of the Aroostook and Penobscot Rivers, Prepared Expressly for Thomas Sedgwick Steele’s “Canoe and Camera” by W. R Curtis, C.E., Orange Judd, 1880.

Steele, Thomas Sedgwick, Map of the Headwaters of the Aroostook, Penobscot & St. John Rivers, Maine, Prepared Expressly for Thomas Sedgwick Steele, Hartford, Conn., Author of Canoe and Camera or Two Hundred Miles Through the Maine Forests, Paddle and Portage from Moosehead Lake to the Aroostook River, Maine &c., Estes and Lauriat, 1882.

Steele, Thomas Sedgwick, Map of the Headwaters of the Aroostook, Penobscot & St. John Rivers, Maine, Compiled by Thomas Sedgwick Steele, Hartford, Conn., Author of Canoe and Camera or Two Hundred Miles Through the Maine Forests, Paddle and Portage from Moosehead Lake to the Aroostook River, Maine &c., Estes and Lauriat, 1882.

The Books of Thomas Sedgwick Steele

Steele, Thomas Sedgwick, Canoe and Camera: A 200 mile tour through the Maine forests, Orange Judd, 1880, 1882, also Estes and Lauriat, 1882, 1886. There was also a later smaller format published without map or pocket by Estes and Lauriat [no date]. The Orange Judd editions came in russet cloth:



I have also seen one Orange Judd copy in grass-green cloth.

The 1886 Estes and Lauriat edition came in dark green cloth:



The 1880 Orange Judd edition apparently also came in grey cloth:



Steele, Thomas Sedgwick, Paddle and Portage, Estes and Lauriat, 1882.



In addition to the blue-green binding shown above, this book was also published the same year in a russet binding.



It's not clear which binding is older.

The Maps of Lucius Lee Hubbard

Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Map of Moosehead Lake and Northern Maine, Embracing the Headwaters of the Penobscot, Kennebec, and St John Rivers: Specially adapted to the uses of lumbermen and sportsmen, self-published, 1879, 1883 (State A with lithographer’s name, B without), 1889, 1891 and 1893.

Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Supplement to Hubbards Map of Moosehead Lake and Northern Maine, Embracing the Headwaters of the St John and Aroostook Rivers, self-published, 1882.

Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Map of Northern Maine Specially Adapted to the Uses of Lumbermen and Sportsmen, self-published, 1894, 1896, 1900, [1912], [1913], [1919] (State A with lithographer’s name, B without), 1929.

The Guidebooks of Lucius Lee Hubbard

Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Hubbard’s Guide to Moosehead Lake and Northern Maine, Williams Co, 1882, 1889, 1893. Some copies of the 1889 4th ed. have the cover title as "Summer Vacations" but list "Hubbard's Guide" as the title on the title page; other copies of the 1889 4th ed. have "Hubbard's Guide" in both locations. There are minor variations in the advertisements between these two different versions of the 4th ed. The 1893 5th ed. says "Fifth" on the cover but says "Fourth" on the title page.



Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Summer Vacations at Moosehead Lake and Vicinity: A practical guidebook for tourists, describing routes for the canoe-man over the principal waters of Northern Maine, with hints to campers and estimates of expense for tours, Williams Co, 1879, 1880.



Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Woods and Lakes of Maine, J R Osgood, 1883/4, 1883/4. This is a narrative of Hubbard's travels, rather than an actual guidebook. However it was issued with one of Hubbard's maps, so I included it here. The first edition bears two different dates 1883 and 1884 within the same volume. The second edition is difficult to distinguish, but bears the date 1888 in one place.



Hubbard, Lucius Lee, Some Indian Place Names in Northern Maine with Explanations Derived from the Indians and a Cross-index, J R Osgood, 1884. This booklet was also published as an appendix to Woods and Lakes of Maine (above), but was also published seperately in a press run of just 50 copies. This book was published with one of Hubbard's maps. I have never seen a copy.

The Maps of Charles A. J. Farrar

I assume that all of these maps underwent numerous revisions and that there were many other editions than the ones listed below.

Farrar, Charles A. J. and Marshall M. Tidd, Farrar's map of northern Maine, Moosehead Lake and vicinity, Sebec Lake, and the headwaters of the Kennebec, Penobscot, and St. John Rivers, drawn expressly for "Farrar's Moosehead Lake and vicinity illustrated" from actual surveys, self-published, 1877. The 1881 edition of the Moosehead guidebook says "with a New and Correct Map," which is entitled: "Farrar's Map of Northern Maine/MOOSEHEAD LAKE and VICINITY/SENEC LAKE/and the headwaters of the/KENNEBEC PENOBSCOT and ST. JOHN RIVERS/ Drawn expressly for Farrar's Moosehead Lake and Vicinity Illustrated/from actual surveys By M. M. Tidd." The copyright date on that map is 1880. Another version of this map was published in 1889, presumably edited some, but perhaps merely with the date changed when Farrar switched to Lee and Shepard as publisher.

Farrar, Charles A. J. and Marshall M. Tidd, Farrar's map of the Rangeley Lakes region, and the sources of the Magalloway & Androscoggin rivers, drawn expressly for Farrar's illustrated guide, Farrar & Johnson, 1876.

Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's new map of the Rangeley Lakes Region and the headwaters of the Connecticut, Magalloway, Androscoggin, Sandy and Dead Rivers showing all railroad, state and steamboat routes, county and wood roads, hotels, camps and post offices, self-published, 1888. Obviously, this was the later edition on 2 above.

Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's new map of the Dead River region and the headwaters of the Connecticut, Magalloway, Androscoggin, Sandy and Dead Rivers, showing all railroad, stage and steamboat routes, county and wood roads, hotels, camps and post offices, self-published, 1899. This was evidently a still later edition of 2 and 3 above.

The 1889 Moosehead Guide advertises: "Farrar's Pocket Map of the Androscoggin Lakes Region . . . 22 x 26 inches . . ." and "Farrar's Pocket Map of Moosehead Lake and Vicinity and the North Maine Wilderness . . . 19 x 24." The Moosehead Lake maps are advertised as being "Printed on tough linene paper, and handsomely bound in cloth covers." The Androscoggin maps are advertised as being "Mounted on cloth, neatly folded, and bound in durable cloth covers."

The Guidebooks of Charles A. J. Farrar

Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's illustrated guide book to Rangeley, Richardson, Kennebago, Umbagog, and Parmachenee lakes, Dixville notch, and Andover, Me., and vicinity, Boston, Farrar and Johnson, 1876. Later editions were published with slight variations in the title in 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881 and 1882. All of the later editions were published by Lee and Shepard in Boston and C. T. Dillingham in New York. This book was apparently published with a folding map which also went through numerous different editions. My copy has no pocket for the map (and no map). Perhaps the map was tipped in at the end. I have seen an 1881 paperback edition of this guidebook. In 1883 the title of this book was changed to Farrar's illustrated guide book to the Androscoggin Lakes.

Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's illustrated guide book to the Androscoggin Lakes and the head-waters of the Connecticut, Magalloway, and Androscoggin Rivers, Dixville Notch, Grafton Notch, and Andover, Maine, and vicinity, Boston, Lee and Shepard; New York, C.T. Dillingham, 1883. Later editions were published in 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1890. This was published with a fold-out map.

The 1889 & 1890 Moosehead Guide advertises: "Farrar's Androscoggin Lakes . . . with a new and correct Large Mpa, 22 x 26 inches, of the entire region . . . With a new and correct Large Map, 22 x 26 inches . . ."

Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's illustrated guide book to Moosehead Lake and vicinity, the wilds of northern Maine, and the head-waters of the Kennebec, Penobscot, and St. John rivers, Boston, Lee and Shepard; New York, C.T. Dillingham, 1878. Later editions of this book include 1879, 1881, 1883, 1884, and 1885. I have never seen an 1877 edition of Moosehead Lake, but I have seen references to an 1877 map, specifically mentioning that it was “drawn expressly for ‘Farrar's Moosehead Lake and vicinity illustrated.’” So perhaps there was an 1877 edition. Apparently no edition was published after 1885 until 1889 when the title was changed slightly to reference the “Katahdin iron works”, rather than the “wilds of northern Maine.” See below.



Farrar, Charles A. J., Farrar's illustrated guide book to Moosehead Lake, Katahdin iron works and vicinity, the north Maine wilderness, and the head waters of the Dead, Kennebec, Penobscot, Aroostook and St. John rivers, Boston, Lee and Shepard, 1889. There was also an 1890 edition under this title. The 1889 edition has the folding map tipped in immediately before the frontispiece; the 1890 edition has the map tipped between the frontis and the title page.