1958 Western Printing and Lithographing Map of the Solar System

This is a 1958 Western Printing and Lithographing map of the Solar System. With the Sun at the bottom of the sheet in the 'foreground', the nine planets are illustrated in orbital order from Mercury through Pluto. Each planet is labeled and each one's diameter, orbit around the Sun (given in Earth years), and number of moons (as of 1959) are provided. Artistic renderings of the surface of Venus, Mercury, the Moon, and Mars line the top of the sheet. Illustrations explaining solar and lunar eclipses as well as some general information about the universe appear along the top border as well. Sketches of the twelve zodiac constellations occupy the lower left and right sides. Illustrations of two real satellites, Explorer III and Sputnik III are situated along the bottom superimposed over the illustration of the Sun. These are flanked by illustrations of a rocket and a capsule-like 'space suit', both of which feel as if they have been lifted directly from the pages of a Arthur C. Clarke novel.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by the Western Printing and Lithographing Company in 1958. We see no examples in institutional catalogs.