Amusing, instructive, colorful—pictorial maps have been used and respected since the first medieval cartographer put pen to paper depicting trees and mountains across countries, people and objects around margins, and sea monsters in oceans. More current generations of pictorial map artists have continued that traditional mixture of fact and whimsy, combining cartographic elements with images and text and featuring arresting and bold designs, cheerful and bright colors, and lively detail. In the US, the art form flourished from the 1920s through the 1970s, when thousands of original maps were mass-produced for use as decorative objects and advertisements—the golden age of American pictorial maps.
Picturing America, (PDF) is the first ebook to showcase this popular and vivid genre of maps. Geographer Stephen J. Hornsby collects together 158 delightful pictorial jewels, most drawn from the huge collections of the Library of Congress. In his informative introduction, Hornsby summaries the development of the cartographic form recognizes several representative artists, defines the process of creating a pictorial map, and considers the importance of the form in the history of Western cartography. Organized into six thematic sections, Picturing America includes a vast swath of the pictorial map tradition during its golden age, ranging from “Maps to Amuse” to “Maps for War.” Hornsby has uncovered the most fascinating and visually striking maps the US has to offer: Disney cartoon maps, kooky state tourism ads, college campus maps, World War II promotional posters, and many more. This amazing, charming volume’s glorious full-color pictorial maps will be tempting to any map lover or armchair traveler.
Reviews
“Weird, delightful, informative….Picturing America collects uncommon images from the short-lived golden age of pictorial mapping.” — Mental Floss
“Though [pictorial maps] were hugely noticeable in American culture of the time, their importance has been largely ignored. However, a new ebook, Picturing America, by geographer Hornsby, examines how these illustrated maps once captured the image of America.” — CNN Style
NOTE: The product only includes the ebook Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps in PDF. No access codes are included
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