June 6, 2008

Mackinac Island, Mich. - At 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, Brian Leigh Dunnigan will give a presentation on his new book, A Picturesque Situation: Mackinac Before Photography, 1615-1860, published by Wayne State University Press, in the Commissary in Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island. There is no charge to attend.

The 30-minute talk and slide presentation will be followed by refreshments and a book signing. Mackinac Associate members receive a 15 percent discount on the book, which is priced at $75.

A Picturesque Situation, containing 330 illustrations, elegantly presents rare and important glimpses of the Straits area in documents, maps, drawings and prints. From the era of European exploitation to the beginning of the Civil War, Native Americans, soldiers, missionaries, traders, explorers and scientists recorded their impressions of the Straits of Mackinac in letters, reports, diaries, books, and legal and financial documents. Military officers noted fortifications and topography, surveyors mapped boundaries, cartographers defined local geography, and travelers sketched scenery and local personalities. Dunnigan's 408-page book showcases all of these images along with text that details their history and incorporates the words of people who visited or lived at the Straits before 1860.

"Drawing on decades of research, Brian Leigh Dunnigan presents a stunning collection of pre-photographic images of Mackinac including maps, plans, drawings, engravings and paintings complemented by a comprehensive, thoroughly researched and eminently readable text," said Mackinac State Historic Parks Director Phil Porter. "No collection of Michigan history is complete without a copy of this superb volume."

Dunnigan is the head of research and publications and curator of maps at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a board member of Mackinac Associates, the non-profit friends group of Mackinac State Historic Parks. He is also the author of Frontier Metropolis (Wayne State University Press, 2001).

Contact Diane Dombroski at (231) 436-4100 for more information on Dunnigan's presentation. If unable to attend but still interested in ordering a copy of A Picturesque Situation, contact Ron Crandell at the same number.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City. Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations. Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).