What happens when a cartographer, a writer, and a photographer walk into a museum?

This blog series is written by Cathy Jewitt and Ben Meader; it features original photos of each location by John Meader. His photography is also available for purchase: https://john-meader.pixels.com/

“Maine is a rendezvous with history” or so proclaimed the 1968 Maine Guide published by the Department of Economic Development. Although “Vacationland” first appeared on the state’s license plates in 1936, by the 1960s the promotion of the state as a tourist destination was in full swing. Tempting arrays of postcards cascaded in orderly rows down metal racks set next to check-out counters. Each small purchase brought both income and advertisement for businesses throughout the state. As motels and overnight cabins multiplied, guests eagerly collected cards to send or keep. Travelers could mail their friends and relatives aerial views of Moosabec Reach, Mattawamkeag Lake, and Meddybemps. Overnight guests at Pray’s near Ripogenus, or shoppers at The Seagull Shop at Pemaquid, could get a memory for the change in their pockets.
But who made them? It might be hard to think of now as a full-time business, but dedicated photographers—like those hired by Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company—had been roaming the state since the early 1900s. But there were a few independent publishers, too. Augustus “Gus” Phillips was like many local Mainers; his life was a patchwork of different jobs. He’d been a carpenter, draftsman, ice harvester, and farmer, but later in life he found he could turn his creativity into a seasonal business.
At the age of 62, after his brother Luther’s death, Gus took full ownership of and expanded both parts of the Phillips map and postcard business. It was 1960 and Gus embraced his inherited responsibilities, adding his own publications. These included painted maps, recreational maps, and full color postcards of various styles. As an independent publisher, Gus was almost like an early “maker”—his office was his home, and his distribution was reliant on his station wagon and people skills. Until he died in the winter of 1975, Gus spent both his working and much of his free time exploring and recording the state he loved.
In 2017, the Phillips Collection of postcards, slides, and photos was given to the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport by Gus’s daughter Mary Jane Phillips Smith. Although the authors had originally met to research a collection of Phillips maps, we volunteered to help organize the PMM donation. We unsealed hundreds of small envelopes that revealed their treasures: including images of lighthouses, harbors, small towns, recreational camps, lobster pounds, and remote ponds. Working at the large table in the center of the PMM’s Stephen Phillips Memorial Library, we started to methodically catalogue a collection. However, we found ourselves derailed, reminiscing about the places we discovered. While many of the places throughout Maine were known to us, some were unknown. As our conversations continued, we couldn’t help but compare which elements of a postcard—a bridge, a shoreline, a town street, an iconic eatery—had stayed the same and which had changed. What did these places look like now, in 2020? Could we find a photographer to capture these places today? 
Discussions, planning, and research have led us to where you find yourself now: Postcards from Gus: A Modern Travelogue Through Maine’s Past. As we travel through Maine places, specifically those captured by the Phillips postcards, we’ll share a modern photo study by photographer John Meader, a written digest of some local history, and maps to show where we’re going and where we’ve been.
We invite you to travel the state with Gus, and us—a cartographer, a writer, and a photographer—three Mainers who walked into a museum and couldn’t stop exploring moments from the past. Maine’s “rendezvous with history” need not be a retired advertising slogan. Let’s explore the state 52 years after the Department of Economic Development coined the phrase. And we'd love to introduce you to Gus.

- Ben & Cathy