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1942 Dornseif Pictorial Map of the United States and its Literary Celebrities
LiteraryUnitedStates-dornseif-1942$425.00
Title
Being a Literary Map of These United States depicting a Renaissance no less astonishing than that of Periclean Athens or Elizabethan London.
1942 (dated) 21.25 x 36.75 in (53.975 x 93.345 cm) 1 : 6660000
1942 (dated) 21.25 x 36.75 in (53.975 x 93.345 cm) 1 : 6660000
Description
This is a 1942 Gladys and Sterling North and Frederic Dornseif pictorial map of the United States celebrating literary achievement. Each state features at least one novelist, poet, or historian, and many highlight a work set there. For example, Nebraska focuses on My Antonia by Willa Cather, while The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings dominates Florida. Authors known for works set outside the United States are referenced in the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, respectively. Pearl Buck and her novel The Good Earth are included on the China Clipper in the Pacific, while authors who took up residence in Europe, including Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, are listed on the passenger list of the S.S. Europa. The U.S.S. Foreign Correspondent also occupies space in the Atlantic, with William Shirer and John Gunther among its passengers.
A Propaganda Map
While the map may not immediately register as pro-America propaganda, the textual content makes it's persuasive purpose clear. Sterling North states that this piece was meant to instill pride in American literary accomplishments. He also takes pains to point out that literary success had spread from coast to coast by 1942, making literature a core part of American society. He states,We need the poet, the novelist, the biographer, and the historian to keep the vision of freedom before our eyes, to offer intellectual leadership and a sense of historical perspective.
Publication History and Census
The cartography was executed by Frederic J. Dornseif and the text was compiled by Gladys and Sterling North. The map was published by G. P. Putnam's sons. We note five examples in OCLC: Yale University, the Library of Congress, the Illinois State Library, Auburn University, and the University of Florida.CartographerS
Frederic John Dornseif (August 5, 1884 - May 5, 1957) was an American artist and cartographer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Dornseif worked as an artist for the Chicago Daily News from 1937 until 1943, for which he drew cartoons and maps. Before working for the Daily News, Dornseif worked for an engraving company in Chicago from at least 1930. Dornseif married Alice Nolan on June 29, 1907, with whom he had three children. More by this mapmaker...
Thomas Sterling North (November 4, 1906 - December 21, 1974) was an American writer and newspaperman. Born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, North attended the University of Chicago and then worked as a writer for the Chicago Daily News, the New York World-Telegram, and the New York Sun before going freelance full-time. Notably, North was one of the first public figures to denounce comic books as the Chicago Daily News Literary Editor in 1940. North wrote several books over the course of his career, including Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, a memoir of a year in his childhood when he raised a baby racoon. Rascal won several awards, was made into a Disney movie in 1969, and then became a 52-episode Japanese anime series (which introduced the raccoon to a Japanese audience) in 1977. He married Gladys Buchanan (June 3, 1907 - February 5, 1989) with whom he had two children. Gladys and Sterling made at least one map together entitled Being a Literary Map of These United States depicting a Renaissance no less astonishing than that of Periclean Athens or Elizabethan London. Learn More...
Gladys North (June 3, 1907 - February 5, 1989) created at least one map entitled Being a Literary Map of These United States depicting a Renaissance no less astonishing than that of Periclean Athens or Elizabethan London. She created the map with her husband Thomas Sterling North (November 4, 1906 - December 21, 1974). Learn More...
Condition
Good. Some soiling. Closed tear extending four and one-half (4.5) inches into printed area professionally repaired on verso. Closed margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Light crackling.
References
OCLC 57232719.