1978 National Survey Map of Florida

Maritime businesses along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

This is a 1978 National Survey map of Florida, created as an advertisement for Florida's marinas and other coastal 'facilities'. Eastern Florida appears on the recto and western Florida is printed on the verso. Advertisements promoting marinas, ship electronics sellers, a canvas shop, and a yacht builder, along with several other businesses, occupy approximately half the recto. Red dots bearing corresponding numbers mark businesses. Highways and interstates, along with the Florida Turnpike, are illustrated inland, while cities and towns are labeled throughout. Major cities and tourist destinations, such as Walt Disney World, are labeled in bold. Inset maps detailing Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Stuart, Titusville and the John F. Kennedy Space Center, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale are situated in the Atlantic to the right of Florida.

Verso Content

A map of Florida's Gulf Coast, from the Everglades north to the Florida-Alabama border, occupies most of the verso. A business directory, listing all seventy-six businesses identified on the map, appears on the verso as well, along with more advertisements. Three inset maps are situated in the Gulf of Mexico to the left of Florida and detail Fort Myers, St. Petersburg, and the Florida Keys.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by The National Survey of Chester, Vermont, for the Florida Division of Tourism in 1978. The OCLC notes a single cataloged example, at the Library of Congress, of the 1978 edition.

Cartographer

The National Survey Company (1912 - 2000) was a map publishing firm based in Chester, Vermont, founded by Lawton V. and Henry F. Crocker in 1912. The Crockers began their careers in the map trade as part-time summer traveling salesmen for The Bullard Company of Boston. However, their relationship with Bullard fell apart in 1912, which forced the brothers to found their own company. They created and published their own maps, with a series of detailed road maps leading to early success. They published maps in varying formats, from pocket maps to wall maps to road atlases. However, the free promotional oil company maps published in the 1920s by firms like Rand McNally almost forced National Survey out of the market. At this point they moved to Chester, Vermont, narrowly avoided bankruptcy, and refocused. They began creating their own promotional maps and travel publications, mainly for hotel and motel chains in New England. During World War II, they completely changed tactics again, and exclusively focused on war production. They published topographic maps for the Army Map Service and nautical charts for the Navy's Hydrographic Office. Work for the Army and Navy continued after the war, even with a renewed focus on tourist maps and guides. In 2000, National Survey was bought by Universal Map, who chose to continue operating out of Chester, Vermont.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Map of western Florida on verso.

References

OCLC 5493141.