1927 Santa Fe Railway “Indian-detour” Advertisements — Fred Harvey Company

Pair of original 1927 print advertisements issued jointly by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and the Fred Harvey Company, promoting their newly introduced Indian-detour motor tours of the American Southwest. These tours, launched in 1926, invited railway passengers to extend their journey by automobile into northern New Mexico and Arizona, visiting pueblos, archaeological sites, and desert landscapes under the guidance of uniformed “Harvey Couriers.”

One advertisement reproduces a photograph credited to Fred Harvey, while the other features a pen drawing after a painting by E.I. Couse, N.A., a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. The imagery and text were part of a coordinated national campaign appearing in period magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Sunset, and other travel publications, as well as Santa Fe-issued brochures and hotel displays in Harvey Houses along the line. Together, these ads reflect the 1920s ideal of comfortable adventure and the romanticized vision of the Southwest that shaped American tourism between the wars.

Professionally framed and matted behind glass, the pair preserves both the visual tone and typographic character of original 1920s printing. They offer a document of early 20th-century marketing that joined art, transportation, and regional identity in a single narrative.

Condition

Good overall. Light, even toning to paper consistent with age; no tears or losses visible. The inside surface of the glass shows light fingerprints and would benefit from cleaning. Frame and mat are structurally sound and visually well presented.

Dimensions

Overall frame: 14.25 × 18.25 inches
Visible image area (each): 9.5 × 6 inches

Historical Note

The Indian-detour program was one of the most distinctive ventures of the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railway. Operated from 1926 through the early 1940s, it represented an early form of organized cultural tourism, combining modern transportation with curated experiences of Indigenous and frontier heritage. These 1927 advertisements belong to the first generation of printed material for the program, which sought to present the Southwest not as wilderness but as a destination of artistry, history, and living culture.