Re-Discover! America’s Great River Road

Sunny days, green bluffs and sparkling Mississippi River remind us that fun and socially responsible activities are all around us…and not limited just to our beautiful parks!! The Great River Road offers easily accessible scenic overlooks, fishing spots, historic side routes to tiny towns with big stories to share, and a fabulous opportunities for watching large wildlife. Eagles, Sandhill Cranes, Egrets, herons, pelicans, and Trumpeter swans are not hard to spot on a day’s drive. Take a picnic lunch and a copy of the nearest Volume of DISCOVER! AMERICA’s GREAT RIVER ROAD and make each day memorable!!

Check out all our Mississippi River products online at www.greatriverarts.com Are you a Kindle reader? Yes! Books are also available online at Amazon’s Kindle books and in regional gift shops along the river.

at Middleton and Great River Publishing have provided fascinating detail on life along the Mississippi River since 1987! The Mississippi River Activity Guide for Kids will provide summer structure for the elementary aged kids. In Volumes 1 (Upper), 2 (Middle), 3 Lower, 4 (Delta) of Discover! America’s Great River Road, Pat becomes your “friend on the road” providing in-depth background on everything you see along the Mississippi River. Father’s Day is a great time to gift your Dad a fascinating regional book or an historic map he will REALLY LOVE. Check out all our Mississippi River products online at www.greatriverarts.com

To Our Valued Past and Present Wholesale Customers

With the uncertainty of the current moment, Lisa and I just wanted to take a moment to reach out to our past and present customers to let you know that Great River Publishing and Great River Arts are open as always for our precious Wholesale Customers and online purchases.

Our fresh printing of Michael Gillespie’s rail and steamboat era anthologies, Lisa’s newly printed 25′′ 1858 Plantation maps, our timeless favorites, the Father of Waters Ribbon Map and our 4 Volumes of DISCOVER! America’s Great River Road are ready to ship TODAY, Click blue links to see products directly online.

Lisa is prepared for your online wholesale orders at her shopping cart at www.greatriverarts.com Click SHOP to enter the shopping cart and use the code patspecial at checkout and the cart will zero out and we will invoice you manually as we always have, at the same wholesale pricing you expected from Great River Publishing. ( All online purchasers can continue to purchase online with no special code and no minimum purchase! Use keywords in the SEARCH button to find any of Lisa’s beautiful 400 map paintings and destinations.)

Your wholesale telephone order, email order, or other queries are always welcome!! Email: mapart@greatriverarts.com or Lisa at: 406.471.7563

Friends, we more than thank you for your continued support. Many of you have been buying our book, maps, note cards for close to 30 years! It’s hard to express how much I (Pat) have appreciated you through the years. If you have any questions. or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Although Lisa will be taking over the bulk of our wholesale business, always, feel free to contact me … with questions, concerns, or a bit of tutoring on Lisa’s www.greatriverarts.com


Charting Our Course

A note from map artist, Lisa Middleton
Friends,we are all charting the course day by day in this confusing time. It seems if we miss the news a single day, everything changes the next, and the world is upside down. Kudos to all of you who are staying home to save lives! My sincerest regards to those who are personally affected by COVID-19. Thank you to those in essential industries who keep the world turning at times like this.

Maps represent our human experiences, memories, and a thousand little stories of the ancestors who beat impossible odds to create the historical maps we hold in our hands today. Our current circumstances are no less difficult, and we can chart the course together, day by day.

What makes our Museum Quality Prints Special

Our maps are unique in the industry! You may have loved ones who had to cancel their vacation, or know of a young couple who had to cancel their wedding or honeymoon. Maybe there is a grandparent in your life who has to be alone in quarantine thousands of miles away from you. There is no better way to tell them you care than to send them a map of a memory, a family legacy or even their dream!

“In her hands, a torn black-and-white 1883 plat of Montana Territory blossoms into a vividly colored snapshot of what the land once was. It remains a map by definition, but by execution it is now an ornate showpiece fit for the living room wall, touched by an artist’s hand with its essential purpose still intact.”
Myers Reese, Montana Quarterly Fall, 2014

We invite you to browse our galleries of more than 400 antique, Mississippi River, East Coast, West Coast, and original custom designed map art at Great River Arts…. greatriverarts.com !! Enter a key word in the orange SEARCH BOX at the top of the map page to explore the cartographer, the year, region or title that is meaningful to you. We hope you enjoy this gift of art and history!!

Door County’s Surprising Icelandic Connection

Hand painted map of Iceland. Click image to order!

Washington Island’s Icelandic Heritage

I was truly surprised on a recent visit to Washington Island off the Door County Penninsula to learn that here was one of the largest concentrations of Icelandic heritage outside of Iceland! No wonder we sell so many of our Iceland 1906 maps! (Shown above, handpainted by Lisa Middleton.) Across Death’s Door, a different culture lives on in the community of Washington Island. 

I always love a good map story, and here is one that ties into our Icelandic heritage.. this is a letter to Iceland that literally had a map for the address. And by golly it found it’s way to the right person!

While Irish and German immigrants were the first to settle Washington Island in 1870 a group of four Icelandic men settled on the island, seeking to take advantage of the fishing and farming opportunities on the island. 

Chester Thordarson, an inventor and economist, brought new wealth to the community in the 1930s, and today that proud heritage lives on. Icelandic influence is still felt in the architecture, museums, names, and thick skin of the Islanders who call it home. Rock Island was a family retreat of the Thordarsons and is now Wisconsin’s Rock Island State Park. The only public transportation to the island is by the passenger ferry Karfi from Washington Island. Primitive camping is possible.

 If Wisconsin’s Door County is a favorite for your family, we think you’ll love Lisa Middleton’s historic 1878 Door County Map featuring the penninsula’s historic lighthouses. Click image too see more detail, or to purchase!

037 Door County with Lighthouse Inset 1878

Plan ahead for Map Gift Giving! Textiles, Fine Art Prints, Home Decor

Our Historic Map Collection is Growing by Leaps and Bounds! More than 350 hand painted Historic, Retro, and Custom Designed Maps are now available, many on our Mississippi River-focused Great River Shopping Cart !

Now is the time to order your historic map ART for Christmas/Holiday gifting.  

Our 1887 Mississippi River Historic Ribbon Map can now be artisan matted, framed and shipped nation-wide for $220. Need a custom map of YOUR estate or favorite destination? Please PHONE 888-255-7726  Hand painted originals available now! Usual wait period is 1 month! So order now for a gift to be available by Christmas. Four matting choices!

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH our Map shopping site by any KEYWORD… date, cartographer, locale, state, etc. If you don’t find it, Call us! 888-255-7726

Custom Framing Services   

Old Time Railroad Stories in three volumes

Steamboating on America’s Rivers!

Phone 406-471-756 with Questions, or
visit our MAP Shopping Cart to order online!

For Mississippi River BOOKS and More, visit click links above, or enter BOOKS in the Search Box.

 

New Textiles Feature River Map Art!

I had fun previewing a new line of home decor and totes featuring our own Driftless Region and Pool 8  Retailers let me know if you’d like more info !  Use the discount code patspecial and we will call you with details.

899F2003-D829-4BF2-9F90-63650B427A26

For individuals purchasing, choose a map (any map) at Greatriverarts.com and CLICK HERE to order a plush throw, hardy tote, decorative pillow…even socks. Just tell us in comments which map you want reproduced on the item.

Right now, Lisa is offering discounted pricing for our valued customers, however, she has a minimum of 4 for any item ordered.  So bring your CHRISTMAS LIST! All major credit cards accepted.

305ADA12-25C9-426B-9141-8BF24707FD60  Plush Throw  $52  C9B0A43D-0A17-4E46-BD78-E20B496EF825 Comfy Pillows  $2873D29372-DCDD-4555-8991-C479E928C119  Sturdy Canvas 18″ Totes $31

Bird migration events set for Nov 10 feature Ferryville, Lansing, and Brownsville

FERRYVILLE — The Ferryville Tourism Council will host its annual Fall Migration Day from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in River View Park on Highway 35.

cropped-eagle-sil-header.jpg

Additional birding events will be held beginning at 8 a.m. at the Driftless Center in Lansing, Iowa, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the birding observation area at Brownsville, Minn., Hwy. 26, all on Nov. 10.

 If you haven’t had the opportunity to explore the excellent DRIFTLESS CENTER in Lansing, Iowa, do take advantage of this opportunity. Enjoy the huge deck/porch that offers a wide view north toward the historic Lansing Bridge. There have been eagles in the vicinity each time I’ve visited.
Additionally, the displays capture our river heritage as well as any museum north of Dubuque.  Live snakes, including a timber rattler, our clamming heritage, driftless geography, commercial fishing and more. Great for kids AND adults.

Maps, mugs, totes, and more!

How cool is this? We just discovered that Our favorite hand painted Mississippi River maps can now be purchased online as tote bags, wood signs, T-shirts, coffee mugs, yoga mats and more! Click image below to purchase our coffee mug for yourself or as a gift!

Driftless Mapon your coffee mug!

Driftless Region Map on your coffee mug!  $14 at FineartAmerica.com Click image to choose your favorite mug!

Click this link to search ALL LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS, each with your favorite hand painted Mississippi River map!  Choose your map, your product or gift options, sizes, colors, orientation and more. Choose from stretched canvas to throw pillows to T-shirts

3247E883-8CB0-439B-980A-B2CDA812802FDon’t see your favorite map in our product catalog?? Call 888.255.7726 and we will help you find it, or get it posted for you! Looking to license an image for your commercial product? YES, we do that!

The historic Steamboat Ports of Chesapeake Bay!

Steamboat ports from around the USA…new custom Map design  from Great River Arts

Design your own map!

There were various types of steamboats on the Chesapeake Bay, all serving a specific function. The packet steamboats were the most common; they were medium-sized and fast, and transported passengers, freight and domestic mail. The rural areas and the city were made accessible with a large fleet of smaller vessels-steam ferries, while excursion steamers were more elaborate, colorful and beautifully decorated, and made drop-offs at popular resorts on the Bay, including Tolchester and Betterton in Kent County. Read on here….

image