Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in rare, important and unusual American maps and prints
A persuasive map is one that is designed to make a point, that is, to alter the viewers beliefs or perhaps even spur them to action. The archetypal use of persuasive maps is for the purpose of political propaganda, such as the “Gerrymander” map, but they can address a wide range of subjects. In fact, we have handled persuasive maps in diverse fields such as advertising, moral education, social science, anti-nuclear protest, women’s suffrage, tourism, and even oil fraud!
The techniques of the persuasive mapmaker are many and varied. To give just a handful of examples: Spatial distortion can emphasize the heights of mountains to make them appear more impressive for would-be tourists. Arresting imagery can create an indelible visual metaphor for an enemy or ally. Selective coloring can emphasize a threat or, for that matter, minimize it.
But a map need not necessarily distort reality to be persuasive. Consider this map from the Civil War era, which makes use of careful shading to suggest how the pervasiveness of slavery varied across Virginia’s counties.
An imposing First World War Allied propaganda map highlighting the hegemonic nature of the Central Powers and arguing for a post-war reorganization of Europe according to the principle of national self-determination. The map depicts Europe and the Near East, color-coded to indicate the dominant nationalities in the vast region then controlled by the Central Powers of […]
![John C. Mulford, Chief Cartographer / C. C. Faunce, Cartographer / A. Hoen & Co., Baltimore, GOOD ROADS EVERYWHERE[:] TOURING EASTERN UNITED STATES SHOWING 100,000 MILES OF MAIN TRAVELED HIGHWAYS…. Washington, D.C.: National Highways Association, Automobile Club of America and Keystone Automobile Club, 1926.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BRM3862-Good-Roads-Everywhere_eastern-US_lowres-scaled-e1658744764624-150x150.jpg)
An exuberant and entertaining 1926 persuasive map of the Eastern United States by the National Highways Association (NHA), touting construction “of a system of 250,000 miles of United States highways … to be built and forever maintained by the United States Government.” The map depicts the eastern section of a vast proposed national highway network, […]
![[After David Horsey], THE WORLD ACCORDING TO RONALD REAGAN. Information Center of the World Peace Council , [1982-83?].](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BRM3543-World-According-to-Ronald-Reagan-scaled-e1586699863308-150x150.jpg)
An entertaining persuasive map from the early years of the Ronald Reagan Presidency, published by the Helsinki-based World Peace Council and offering a liberal caricature of the Great Communicator’s world view. The map depicts the United States and Soviet Union wildly out of scale with the rest of the world. The United States is divided […]
![[ OSPAAAL ] [René] Mederos, [Untitled propaganda poster attacking President Nixon’s policies in Southeast Asia.] [Havana]: Organization of Solidarity of the People of Asia, Africa & Latin America, 1971.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/BRM3884-Nixon-as-vulture-1971_lowres-150x150.jpg)
A rare and haunting propaganda map attacking Nixon Administration policies in Indochina, published at the height of the Vietnam War by OSPAAAL, a Cuba-based organization promoting solidarity between the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The poster features a map of Southeast Asia, with North Vietnam and Laos overprinted blood-red and shown in the […]
![Maurice Neumont / P.J. Gallais et Cie., Edit. Imp., En 1788 MIRABEAU disait deja : LA GUERRE est l’industrie Nationale de la PRUSSE [“Already in 1788 Mirabeau was saying: War is the national industry of Prussia.”] Paris, [1917.]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BRM3908-Neumont-La-Guerre...Prusse-1914_lowres-150x150.jpg)
A brilliantly-designed and brutally-effective First World War propaganda map by Maurice Neumont, comparing Germany to a monstrous octopus threatening Europe. Germany is shown in different shadings of red, indicating its numerous annexations of surrounding territory since 1740, the most recent being the 1871 seizure of Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War. Sprawled across Germany is a […]
![U.S. Government Printing Office, [Nav War Maps 1 through 6.] Washington, D.C.: Navy Department, 1944.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BRM3308-Nav-War-Map-No-1-Mediterranean_lowres-e1568215297699-150x150.jpg)
A mammoth and colorful “Nav War Map” of the Mediterranean issued by the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II. This impressive, separately-published propaganda map was produced in 1944 to highlight the strategic importance of the Mediterranean, which “offers many approaches to Fortress Europe.” It also emphasizes Allied successes there during the Second […]
An unusual and mildly anti-Semitic cartographic cartoon from 1912 taking aim at the power of the Guggenheim Family and their purported corrupt dealings in Alaska. The cartoon depicts the United States in outline, towered over by eight of its industrial titans. East of the Mississippi are Morgan, Rockefeller and Carnegie, glaring across the river at […]
![ARMOUR’S FOOD SOURCE MAP[:] THE GREATNESS OF THE UNITED STATES IS FOUNDED ON AGRICULTURE. [Chicago?] Armour and Company, 1932.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/BRM3596-Armours-Food-Source-Map_lowres-150x150.jpg)
A vibrant persuasive map of the United States by meatpacking giant Armour and Company, making the case for the strategic importance of its industry. Founded in the 1860s by Philip Danforth Amour (1832-1901), Armour and Company was a meatpacking pioneer, using refrigeration, assembly-line methods, canning and economies of scale to become the industry leader. For […]
![Frederic M. Thrasher, CHICAGO’S GANGLAND PREPARED BY FREDERIC M. THRASHER 1923-26. [Chicago, 1927 or later.]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/BRM3499-Chicago-Gangland_lowres-scaled-e1596228085819-150x150.jpg)
A remarkable thematic map documenting the distribution of gang activity in Chicago, compiled by groundbreaking sociologist Frederic Thrasher. Chicago’s Gangland was originally issued to illustrate Frederic Thrasher’s seminal 1926 study The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. Thrasher’s concern was not primarily with “The Mob” of Al Capone, but rather second-generation immigrant children who evolved from “play […]
A very rare 1898 promotional map of Jefferson County, Texas. Published by Pattillo Higgins, the Father of Texas Oil, a few short years before the gusher at Spindletop transformed the global oil industry. Background Higgins (1863-1955) was born in Sabine Pass, Texas but spent most of his life in nearby Beaumont. His unpromising early years were marked among other things […]