1936 / 1964 Wallingford Map : A Bostonian's View of the United States

Lampooning the Provincial Bostonian.

This is a 1936 / 1964 Daniel Wallingford map of the United States as viewed by the stereotypical Bostonian, reissued after his death by his widow, Margaret G. Wallingford. It lampoons Boston and New England-centric biases and is an early example of the 'Brags Map' genre, which Wallingford did much to define.

A Closer Look

The map presents New England in exaggerated size and detail east of the Connecticut River - but with decreasing accuracy and increasing vagueness further to the west. Cape Cod, in particular, is disproportionately enormous. In the 'western prairies', the cities are listed, but they are not placed at their actual locations; rather, they are simply said to be 'located in this territory'. The Mississippi River barely extends north beyond Saint Louis, while Denver and Omaha are both decidedly West Coast cities. As a point of caution, the publishers have included a warning, 'As this map contains some inaccuracies, its use in connection with problems in navigation, astronomy, meteorology, etc. is not recommended'. An inset map of the Boston environs is located in the lower right and states, 'Important cities and towns not shown on the general map for lack of space are included in this inset.' It is also of note that, per Wallingford, Bali is removed from Indonesia and relocated just off the coast of Central America.

Wallingford and Brags Maps

The 'Brags Map' genre (sometimes referred to as perspective maps or booster maps) is a playful form of cartographic humor that reached its peak popularity in the mid-20th century. These maps are defined by their intentional distortion of geography to reflect a specific region's ego, provincialism, or perceived cultural dominance. In a typical brags map, a single city or state, such as New York, Texas, or Boston, is depicted as a massive, central landmass, while the rest of the United States (or the world) is relegated to tiny, vaguely defined fringes.

Daniel K. Wallingford is widely credited with defining and perfecting this genre through his iconic mid-1930s works. His A New Yorker's Idea of the United States (offered by us, NewYorker-wallingford-1939-2) satirizes the stereotypical Manhattanite's worldview, in which Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs occupy nearly half of the continent, the Hudson River is a massive gulf, and the entire 'West' is a hazy collection of mislabeled states and wilderness (likely an influence on Saul Steinberg's famous 1976 New Yorker cover image 'View of the World from 9th Avenue'). Wallingford followed this success with the present Bostonian brags map. By codifying these visual tropes, Wallingford influenced many later illustrators and established a template that is still used today in postcards, magazine illustrations, and viral social media graphics.

Publication History and Census

This map was originally published by Daniel Wallingford in 1936 (previously sold by us, BostoniansView-wallingford-1936-2) in several printings that year and in the following years. The present example was a reissue published by Wallingford's wife, Margaret, after his death in January 1964. Although undated, the Library of Congress's Catalog of Copyright Entries for 1966 records the copyright as having been filed by Margaret in November 1964. Aside from the altered copyright below the title, there are no other changes between the 1936 and 1964 printings. The map was later reissued by the Wainwright Publishing Co. in the 1970s (BostoniansView-wallingford-1975) with a notably different appearance. As the various printings and editions of the map are undated, cataloging is inconsistent and inconclusive. However, we have been unable to locate a catalog listing mentioning Margaret Wallingford, suggesting this is a rarer variant.

Cartographer

Daniel Kirkwood Wallingford (September 12, 1890 – January 11, 1964) was an American industrial designer and artist. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of an architect. Wallingford, first came to national attention as a schoolboy in Indianapolis, when he was so moved by the 1898 explosion of the battleship Maine, off Cuba, that he he donated his life savings of 49 cents to the Dept. of the Navy with a note reading, 'I saved the money myself. I got part of it for having my tooth pulled and I save part of it from Christmas ... I wanted to help build a ship'. For his patriotism a steel-sheathed tugboat was named after him. Wallingford went on to attend Phillips Andover Academy, then Cornell University where studied Architecture and Industrial Design and was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. From 1917 - 1919, he served in World War I (1914 - 1818) and as Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery in World War II (1939 - 1945). He is known for two important maps, New Yorker's View of the United States of America and The Bostonian's View of the United States of America. Both maps were revolutionary in the evolution of the American pictorial map for their satirical depiction of New York and Boston, respectively. The New Yorker's View, Wallingford's first map, was initially issued in 1932 in just 100 prints, which Wallingford distributed as Christmas gifts. The map proved so popular he revised it and proceed a second edition in 1935. Later, in March of 1976, a modified version appeared as a New Yorker cover. Shortly after moving to Boston in 1936, he issued his second map, the The Bostonian's View, also sold via mail order. A third less famous map, A Bookman's Idea of the United States was published in 1938. Wallingford was most likely inspired by John T. McCutcheon's 1922 New Yorker's View of the World and intern inspired a number of subsequent artists including John Roman (Cowboy America) and Ernest Dudley Chase (The United States as Viewed by California). Despite the near iconic popularity of his two famous maps, little is known of Wallingford's personal life. Wallingford died in 1964 and was survived by his wife, Margaret.   Further Details...

Condition

Excellent.

References

Rumsey 8203.000 (1936 ed.).