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.
Louis D. Fancher
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P)
1930
Nation (United States)
John Bull and his friends: a serio-comic map of Europe
This British cartoon map of Europe paints a belligerently nationalistic view of diplomatic relations in 1900. John Bull, Britain personified, is swatting away two cats -- Boer troops resisting British rule in South Africa -- while the rest of Europe condemns or conspires against him. What is significant about this map is the way that France is portrayed as less sinister than Germany, which is less sinister than Russia. While Marianne is shown looking glumly at broken toys labelled with the names of political and diplomatic incidents, Germany is represented by the Kaiser in uniform stockpiling battleships and exports, and Russia is an octopus with the Czar at its centre. One could argue that proximity is the defining factor: France is close to England and had perhaps been visited by the artist and his expected reader. Russia on the other hand is a very long way away, and thus understandably more sinister. Germany is between the two.
Frederick W. Rose
G.W. Bacon & Co., Ltd., London
1900
English
Historical Cartoon Map
Continental
Frederick W. Rose (original sketch)
Matthew B. Hewerdine
individual map
49 x 70cm
Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu
G5701.S1 1900 .R6