“Wish You Were Here” traces not just the social and industrial developments of the city, but the landscape and public features as well. This 1859 Pocket Map and Visitor’s Guide to Central Park includes a notice from A. H. Green, President of the Commissioners of the Central Park, about the first opening of a small area called the “Ramble,” south of the old Receiving Reservoir. Eagle-eyed viewers may recognize now-beloved features of the park, but the text of the guide speaks in generalities and focuses on what had been done organizationally and financially, as so little of the Park was actually finished at time of publication. Walk your favorite park paths through time at “Wish You Were Here,” open to the public free of charge, Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. From the Collection of Mark D. Tomasko Pocket Map and Visitor’s Guide to Central Park. [with] Map of Central Park New York. Exhibiting the Drives, Promenades, Walks, Buildings, Ponds, Rocks, &c. as far as finished up to July 1859. (fb)

Samuel L. Clemens carefully crafted Mark Twain not just as a character, but as a recognizable brand. Both during his life and afterwards, the name and image of Mark Twain have been used to sell cigars, games, domestic goods, and food. George S. Parker copyrighted this map board game, “The Good Old Game of Innocence Abroad” in 1888. The subtle change in the title for Twain’s “Innocents Abroad” signals the paucity of the game’s connection to the book. Still, it proved popular, and was reissued a decade after its original release. Visit “A First-Class Fool: Mark Twain and Humor” Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, open to the public free of charge. Or visit the exhibition online: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/-a-first-class-fool Or click the link in our bio to visit the exhibition online. Photo:[Mrs. Shepherd.] The Good Old Game of Innocence Abroad. Salem, Mass.: Parker Brothers, [ca. 1901]. Courtesy of the Collection of Susan Jaffe Tane. Photos by Nicole Neenan. (fb)