1928 Jo Mora Pictorial Map of San Diego, California

This is a 1928 Jo Mora pictorial map of San Diego, California, described by Mora as a 'whimsical map and history of a city in California'.

A Closer Look

With San Diego at its center, the map depicts the California coast from La Jolla to Tijuana. Typical of Mora's work, this map cartoonishly highlights hyper-local character and folklore, much of which might only be understood by a resident. This map also promotes the Marston Company, a department store in San Diego whose founder commissioned the map to commemorate the store's Golden Anniversary. Some of the more comic vignettes include a salesman trying to sell land in a subdivision to a young couple, one of whom is holding a bag marked 'Iowa'; a man running from a swarm of bees; and a drunk using the sign marking Mexico to hold himself up. Notable locations cited include the Naval Air Station, Balboa Park, the zoo, the San Diego De Alcala Mission, Point Loma Lighthouse, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Soledad Mountain, La Mesa Reservoir, Sweetwater Reservoir, and Mt. Helix.

Insets in the lower left highlight buildings around San Diego. A cartouche promotes the Marston Company. The map also features illustrations of the Marston Company's four San Diego stores. The whole is surrounded by border vignettes commemorating San Diego's history from the discovery of San Diego Bay by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, to whom this map is dedicated, to the founding of Spanish missions, to the battles of the Mexican-American War, which led to the founding of modern-day San Diego.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Jo Mora after he was commissioned by George Marston, the founder of Marston's Department Store, to commemorate the chain's Golden Anniversary. Only 2,000 copies of this work were printed, after which the original plates were destroyed, per Marston's wishes. Two copies are cataloged in the OCLC: Denver Public Library and the University of California, San Diego. Another example is part of the David Rumsey Map Collection. It occasionally appears on the private market.