Illustrated map of the United States showing the primary resources, exports, topographical features, and landmarks of each state as well as inset maps showing major transportation routes, with text in French, published for l'Office d'Information de Guerre des Etats-Unis (or the United States Office of War Information). Sheet size 24 x 32 inches. Some light chipping and edgewear, minor superficial paper losses at cornersold repaired tear in the area of the Atlantic Ocean, overall very good. New York: General Drafting Co., Inc., n.d. (circa 1944).

This illustrated map of the United States dates to the period during World War II when the United States Office of War Information, or OWI, was creating radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films, and other forms of media both at home and abroad, as part of a large-scale information and propaganda campaign. Much of their activity in Europe focused on anti-Axis propaganda, through the use of leaflets, newspapers, magazines, and secret radio stations.

This map, however, is an example of the pro-American propaganda which was also produced and circulated as part of the OWI's output. The map gives the population of the United States as approximately 138 million, which supports a date of production around 1944. The map is profusely illustrated, with hundreds of small drawings showcasing points of interest, historical sites, and agricultural and industrial products across the country. In New England, for example, a small drawing of a lobster is alongside an illustration of ship-building, as well as a note and small drawing of a ship mentioning that the Mayflower landed in Plymouth in 1620. Florida has drawings and notes regarding the naval air base in Pensacola, the Spanish colonies, beaches, the Daytona racetrack, the Everglades, and production or export of sponges, citrus fruit, and cotton.

Famous colleges and universities are also noted on the map, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Columbia, and Stanford. National parks are illustrated, such as Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, Acadia, and Yosemite.

A fascinating map which showcases the breadth of diversity of the United States in the mid-1940s. The last sentence of the text panel on the map reads, "La carte montre la variété des populations, des industries, des produits, les merveilles naturelles et les principales caractéristiques des différentes régions des Etats-Unis d'Amérique." In our research, we found an English-language version of the map was produced as well, with date unknown but likely after the war. Later versions were also produced in other languages as well, but all of these lack the notation that the map was published for the war office. It is possible that the English-language map was adapted from the one produced by the OWI during the war. We found several of these alternate versions in the David Rumsey Map Collection, but not this French edition produced for the OWI. Our research turned up only two copies of this specific map as of December 2024: in the BNF and at Stanford in the Hoover Collection.

Book ID: 53369

Price: $2,500.00