A celebration of fun and sun through tourists' eyes

"Wow! The most beautiful and captivating manuscript I have ever read. Hollis's book is a journey to a long-vanished Florida before Disney, a Florida filled with roadside attractions, pink flamingos, and alligator farms. The beautiful and full-color vintage advertising makes this book one of the best Florida souvenirs of all time."--Brian R. Rucker, author of Arcadia and Floridale

"This colorful book takes the reader back to the golden age of tourism, to Florida before the mouse. Vivid postcards and brochures revisit lost attractions and remind the reader that once upon a time Florida offered more than one brand of family fantasy."--Tracy J. Revels, author of Watery Eden

For more than a century, Florida has thrived on its image as an exotic playground. Selling the Sunshine State offers a scrapbook of bygone brochures, postcards, souvenirs, and photos, all designed to lure northerners (and fellow southerners) into the peninsula.

Tim Hollis's personal collection of Florida memorabilia and mementos lies at the heart of the nearly 500 color images herein. Lovingly assembled, the book is arranged according to the state’s traditional tourism department regions, including the Miracle Strip, the Big Bend, and the Gold Coast, which allows readers to discover the lost attractions and sometimes shocking appeals in promotional material created from the 1920s through the 1970s.

An introductory essay on the history of Florida advertising methods and themes, along with additional commentary for each region, places the images in context. Hollis writes as a tourist,
and his captions to the copious, eye-catching color illustrations transport the reader back to another era of Florida history. Nostalgic tourists, Florida natives, and anyone interested in the history of advertising will enjoy this lighthearted volume.

Tim Hollis is the author of numerous books celebrating southern popular culture and history, including Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Run and Florida's Miracle Strip: From Redneck Riviera to Emerald Coast.

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" Flipping through the pages is a journey to a happy land of bikini beauties, roadside attractions, minature golf, and wigwam shaped motels."
--Coastal Living

" Opens a window to the lost attractions and creative pleas made in promotion materials that were created from the 1920's through the 1970's."
--Tampa Magazine

"A delightful, sentimental journey back to the heydey of Florida roadside attractions. Will evoke nostalgia from anyone who lived in or visited Florida during the 1950s and 1960s."
--Tallahassee Democrat

"After finishing this nostalgic book, readers cannot help but feel that modern tourism advertising has lost much of the charm, cleverness, and originality that Hollis emphasizes in this collection of Florida tourism memorabilia." "Represents a major contribution to the preservation of important cultural artifacts that influenced popular perceptions about the state."
--Tampa Bay History

"Tourists who visited Florida during the era and current residents of the state will be delighted with 'the most elaborate Florida vacation scrapbook ever assembled, (3). In addition, those interested in the history of marketing and advertising, as well as those interested in tourism history might find the book useful. Because women are shown in many of the ads to help sell the attractions, the book may also be of interest to scholars of women's studies."
--Florida Historical Quarterly