A Food Map of the United States
A 1930 pictorial map of the United States with a focus on the foods produced by each state. The colors of the map are vibrant, and the decoration stylized. Within each state, the artist/cartographer has drawn in imagery of the food products. Additionally, each state contains images of the peoples and cultural components of the state. These images are often racialized and stereotyped. Often, images are combined to create tableaux (chases, thefts, interactions), which usually serve to enforce stereotypes, particularly of African Americans. The bottom of the map contains a banner which gives a romanticized account of American progress. The map was published by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, and also serves as an advertisement for the company, noting all the locations of Great Atlantic and Pacific outposts and the efficiency of their shipping. Insets on the corners also highlight A&P, as well as representative circle maps showing the distribution of meat, fish, and poultry throughout the country. <iframe id="widgetPreview" style="border: 0px solid white;" src="http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/workspace/handleMediaPlayer?lunaMediaId=RUMSEY~8~1~290332~90061898&embedded=true&cic=RUMSEY%7E8%7E1&widgetFormat=javascript&widgetType=workspace&controls=1&nsip=1" frameborder="0" width="800" height="600"></iframe>
Louis D. Fancher
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P)
1930
Nation (United States)
Map of the Gifts of Nature to America
This 1934 pictorial map was created by the Kellogg Company. The titular "Gifts of Nature" refers to agricultural plenty, but the map also depicts historical sites, industry, and Native American tribes. Also shown are railroad lines, migration routes, and recreation. Insets on both sides of the map, as well as near the Great Lakes, connect these "gifts" to the development of the Kelloggs Company. The narrative begins with Native Americans, then depicts the original home of Kelloggs, then moves on to facts about the company's industrial prowess as well as a picture of the enormous Kellogg plant. The trajectory of this narrative advances an argument for progress and success: white dominance, homegrown business, and industrialization.
This narrative is supported by imagery throughout the map, as when Native American tribes are represented by tomahawks. Additionally, large labels throughout the map define swathes of land by their agricultural output: "The Heart of the Corn Country," "The Land of Cotton," etc. This indicates that the land itself has a destiny: to support the American people (specifically, through their consumption of Kelloggs!). Interestingly, the only human forms depicted are those of cowboys in the southwest.
Of the maps in this collection, this is the one that advances the most explicit commercial argument.
Kellogg Company
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Kellogg Company
1934
Nation (United States)