For your consideration is a Vintage 1938 Montana State Highway Travel Book, "Picture Writing". Designed and photographed by Bob Fletcher with cover and embellishments by Irvin (Shorty) Shope. Robert H. (Bob) Fletcher, was a Western poet and writer perhaps best know as the uncredited writer of the lyrics to Cole Porter 's song, “Don't Fence Me In." His writings included a novel on the early days in the Montana cattle business, “From Free Grass to Fences.” Formerly of Butte, Montana, Fletcher moved to Helena, Montana to work for the Montana Highway Department to promote tourism in Montana. In about 1935 he was instrumental in the creation of "Ports of Entry" at major highways entering Montana, where visitors were provided with information about Montana's history and points of interest. He became a student of Montana history, and with that background he wrote the text for a series of historical markers displayed throughout Montana in the mid-1930s. He was an early "cowboy poet". Irwin Shope was born on his father’s Circle Arrow Ranch in the Boulder Valley of Jefferson County, Montana. He would later use his father’s brand, a circle arrow, to sign his work. He was mentored by the highly-respected artist, Edgar S. Paxson. Always drawn to the ranch life, Shorty alternated between cowboying in the summer and spring and schooling in the winter. It was during these years that he perfected his skills to accurately portray the western ranch scene and the cowboys and horses that inhabited it. He also painted murals for the University of Montana, the Montana Highway Dept. and numerous commercial institutions in Helena. His time with the Montana Highway Dept., beginning in 1935, produced many widely-distributed maps, brochures and posters. Book has an insert, "Key to Indian Pictographs". This softcover travel book is in good condition, very slight age tanning noted. Measures 8.5"W x 11"L.