Sure, it’s fun to give the hippest, hottest high-tech gadgets as holiday presents, but this year why not be truly cool and go retro, Colorado-style. Celebrate the history of the Centennial State with these unique gifts. – Vicky Uhland, Special to The Denver Post
Mesa Verde photos
Colorado’s world-renowned Ancestral Pueblan homesite, Mesa Verde, celebrates its 100th anniversary as a national park next year. To help benefit the Mesa Verde Museum Association centennial fund, Durango-based San Juan Images is offering four limited-edition historic photos reproduced from the park’s archives. Each 16-by-20-inch picture is sepia-toned and matted or framed. $200-$350. SANJUANIMAGES.COM or 970-884-7828
Ghost-town guide
For generations of Coloradans with fond memories of jeep-riding over boulder-strewn tracks in search of a piece of history, Robert L. Brown’s guide to hard-to-find high- country ghost towns is once again in print. Although “Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns” hasn’t been updated since it was first published in the 1960s, it’s still one of the most comprehensive guides on the legends and logistics of 59 abandoned gold and silver mining towns scattered throughout the Rocky Mountains. $12.95. THE TATTERED COVER
On the map, 1896
You’ve read about present-day Victor, now check out what it looked like in 1896 with this colorful, comprehensive map. $37.25. WEBER’S BOOKS, BRECKENRIDGE
Modeling the past
Make your holiday party stand out with a fashion show featuring model/volunteers from the Colorado Historical Society. They’ll come to your house and strut their stuff in some of the 600 pieces of clothing in the historical society’s collection, including governor’s wives’ inaugural gowns and fashions from the 1800s to 1980s. $150-$250. 303-794-9250.
A library of images
The Denver Public Library has long offered prints of the more than 100,000 photos in its collection, but now it’s also selling digital images of the many posters, maps, advertisements, magazine covers and other assorted Colorado ephemera collected over the years by the DPL, the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado Historical Society. If you order by Saturday, delivery is guaranteed by Dec. 23. $17-$161. DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY FIFTH FLOOR OR PHOTOSWEST.ORG
