1947 Arnold Map of the United States as Arizonans See It

This is a 1947 Oren Arnold and Leigh St. John humorous pictorial map of the United States. The map depicts the continental United States (relatively speaking) from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada to Mexico from an Arizonan's perspective. Arizona, naturally, dominates the landscape. The state is referred to as 'heaven', 'paradise', and the '[land of] milk and honey'. Heaven is illustrated by a heavenly female angel, while a female farm hand carrying two pails escorted by two bees portrays the 'milk and honey' image. The sun also rises and sets in Arizona, a subtle suggestion that the universe revolves around the state. Lake Mean, of course, occupies a large portion of the upper-left corner of the state. A large bull, illustrated in the lower portion of Arizona, gazes quizzically across the state line at a fellow bull in Oklahoma / Texas. The Arizona bull's cousin, however, is not as well-fed, and is actually illustrated as being only skin a bone, yet another not-so-subtle hint at Arizona's claim to being paradise.

The rest of the map is occupied by a rather comical illustration of the United States, California, for example, is known for its earthquakes, tidal waves, rain, fog, and ice (complete with an Eskimo in winter weather gear). The Great Lakes are made up of Lake Heron, Lake Champagne, Another Lake, and Lake Michigan (which is in New England) near Chicago and Detroit. North Dakota and North Carolina border these lakes, while South Dakota and South Carolina are illustrated along the Gulf Coast. The vast majority of the Eastern U.S. is an 'Unexplored Frozen Northland inside the Arctic Circle. This includes the states of West Virginia, Old Virginia, and East Virginia. St. Louis is labeled along the Atlantic coast, while Florida is unlabeled, except as a hurricane zone, and as a habitat for mosquitos and alligators. Washington, D.C. is labeled, along with a sketch of the Washington Monument. While Coney Island, 'Road' Island, Manhattan Island, and Long Island all exist off the Atlantic coast. Canada, for its part, is simply labeled as 'void'.

This map was created by Leigh St. John and included in Oren Arnold's 1947 booklet 'Arizona Brags'. St. John undoubtedly took inspiration for their creation from Daniel Wallingford, famous for his map A Bostonian's Idea of the United States of America.