1947 Arnold Humorous Pictorial Map of California and the United States

Californians-orenarnold-1947
$1,600.00
Map of the United States as Californians See It. - Main View
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1947 Arnold Humorous Pictorial Map of California and the United States

Californians-orenarnold-1947

One of the greatest and rarest California pictorial maps.
$1,600.00

Title


Map of the United States as Californians See It.
  1947 (dated)     16.5 x 20.5 in (41.91 x 52.07 cm)

Description


This scarce 1947 pictorial map of California was drawn by Charlene Bisch to promote Oren Arnold's book California Brags. It is among the greatest and rarest California pictorial maps and one of the archetypal 'brag' maps of the era - one that sparked a responsive 'Florida Brags' map.
A Closer Look
Visually striking and packed with playful references, this pictorial map inflates the size of California, prominently shaded yellow, to cover nearly half of the United States, while the 'Los Angeles City Limits' embrace almost the entire country. The Golden State is filled with humorous illustrations meant to highlight its superiority, starting with a Kissin' Sun and an angelic weatherman who blesses California with an ideal climate. The Colorado River forms the entire eastern border of the state, and both Hoover and Boulder Dam appear along it, a joking reference to the dispute over naming the dam in the preceding years. Several locations, including Alaska, Hawaii, mountains and national parks, are appropriated by California here, such that the state becomes a representation of the entire American West, or at least the most beautiful parts of it.

Several references are made to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, though not always in geographic proximity to their actual locations. The glitz and glamor of Hollywood is shamelessly applauded. San Diego is teased for its claim, sometimes challenged by other coastal cities, to have the 'world's finest harbor,' as well as being home to the 'entire U.S. Navy.' Although California does not contain a 'Capital of the Universe,' the inclusion of a 'United Nations Capital' towards top-left was not totally off base, as the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which founded the body, was held in San Francisco in April 1945 (the first meeting of the General Assembly took place in London the following January). In sum, California's self-conception as a paradise on earth is amplified to absurd heights, being both celebrated and satirized in the process.

As for the rest of the country, it is given minimal attention, and what attention is paid is unflattering ('good only for movie sets,' 'unexplored, unimportant anyway; not in California'). Particular derision is reserved for Florida, perhaps because it is thought to share many of the same advantages as California. It is presented as a noxious wasteland filled with alligators, rain, hurricanes, and ice.
Arnold's Brags Maps and the California-Florida Rivalry
Orne Arnold published several 'brag' books and maps in the mid-20th century, including for Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico in addition to California Brags. These were small, ephemeral, souvenir-type books that highlighted the attractions and characteristics of the state in question in a humorous manner, often ridiculing other states and regions in the process. Other artists and authors produced similar works around the same time, such as John Randolph and Mark Storm's 'Official Texas Brags Map of North America' and Daniel Wallingford's maps of the United States as seen by Bostonians and New Yorkers (all previously sold by us).

However, Arnold's California map appears to have touched a nerve and generated a direct competitor in Jack Swenningsen's 'A United States Map as the Floridian Sees It' (previously sold by us as UnitedStatesFloridian-giblinboeri-1948; it is also possible that Swenningsen's was prepared first, but all known examples are dated 1948). Long before Governors Newsom and DeSantis duked it out on social media and in televised debates, the two states, both defined by sunshine, seashore, and dynamic economies, feuded in print. Arnold's and Swenningsen's maps are mirror images of each other, employing a near identical aesthetic and even some of the same features (Mexican dancers and mariachi singers, sharks, and bikini-clad beachgoers), or elements that are in direct response to each other. Both take a dim view of each other and other parts of the country, wildly exaggerating stereotypes.
Publication History and Census
This map was drawn by Charlene Bisch (signed 'Charlene' below and to the left of the title cartouche) for Orne Arnold's scarce book California Brags: Tall Talk from the Golden State (OCLC 10280497). This example was printed by the R. H. Moebus Company in Eureka, California, a company about which little is known. There are at least two other printings of the map, both of which list Brags Publishing Co. as the publisher and credit Bisch as the illustrator. They differ slightly in the location of the publication information, with some examples attributed to Long Beach Printery. In all other respects, the printings are identical. In any event, both the map and the book are quite rare now, with the separate map cataloged at the Newberry Library and Yale University. A more common, smaller-format edition of the map appeared in tourist guidebooks published by Arnold in the following years.

CartographerS


Oren Arnold (July 20, 1900 - 1980) was an American novelist, journalist and humorist. Born in Minden, Texas, Arnold attended Rice University were he was the editor of the student newspaper, the 'Thresher', president of the Writers Club, and the Rice correspondent for the 'Houston Chronicle'. After leaving Rice, Arnold worked briefly as a newspaper reporter and editor in Texas and Arizona in the 1920s, although he found more success through his freelance efforts. He spent more than the following fifty years as a full-time free-lance writer and traveler. He accomplished most of his writing at his home in Phoenix, Arizona or at his beach cottage in Laguna Beach, California. More by this mapmaker...


Charlene Bisch (1923 - 2008) was an American illustrator. She is best remembered as the illustrator of the 1951 Little Golden Book 'The Brave Little Indian' which was later reissued with illustrations by Eric Carle, creator of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Learn More...

Condition


Good. Scuffing and minor border reinstatement lower left corner. Light dampstains lower left and right corners.

References


OCLC 1322027437.