Picturesque St. Lawrence

by Clifton Johnson

253 pages, Library Binding

Published January 1, 1910

About the author

Clifton Johnson was born in the village of Hockanum in Hadley, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1865. Johnson was an important literary figure with some 125 published books and countless magazine and newspaper articles to his credit. A friend of William Dean Howells and John Burroughs, he was an acquaintance of many other late 19th and early 20th century authors and editors. Johnson was a self-styled folklorist, an illustrator, photographer, author, and editor. He died on January 22, 1940.

The first book authored by Johnson was The New England Country, published in 1892, and his last was Sailing for Gold, published in 1938, two years before his death. He wrote a biography of his friend, John Burroughs, the naturalist, and one of Hudson Maxim, the inventor. He also wrote a series of travel books including the Highways and Byways of America series with coverage of 48 states, and volumes on travel in England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. Each volume was illustrated with his photographs or drawings. Johnson was almost exclusively interested in documenting the rural, countryside inhabitants of small towns and farmlands.

Johnson was also interested in children's literature and illustrated and edited several volumes of children's stories. During the course of his research on children and education, Johnson began to gather children's books and wrote several volumes on the history of rural schoolhouses and early American schooling. By the end of his life, he had amassed an important collection of juvenile books and schoolbooks, which are now housed at the Jones Library.