1950 Mendle Printing Pictorial Map of the Mississippi Gulf Coast

This quaint c. 1950 mid-century pictorial tourist map of the Mississippi Gulf Coast was produced by Mendle Printing to highlight accommodations along the coast.

A Closer Look

Covering from the Bay of St. Louis to the Bay of Biloxi, this pictorial map embraces most of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, including several areas popular with tourists. The various activities presented include yachting, sunbathing, swimming, fishing, hunting, golfing, drive-in theaters, and charter flights; most are depicted with illustrations (activities are also listed at right and on the verso, with some description). A couple of locals drinking homebrew at top-left indicate another potential avenue for recreation. The presence of the U.S. military is also readily apparent, with a navy base, veterans' hospital, and military academy along the coast. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad runs across the map.

The names and locations of many hotels, motels, motor courts, cottages, and other accommodations are noted throughout, with the Hotel Markham and Edgewater Gulf Hotel given special attention (the former still stands and again operates as a hotel after being converted to offices, while the later was demolished in 1971).

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared and printed by Mendle Printing of St. Louis. No artist is listed. A date is also not provided, but from context, it is likely c. 1950 (the naming of Gulfport Airfield suggests a date after 1949; the presence of a drive-in theater suggests a date not before 1950). Only one example of this map is recorded in OCLC, at the University of Mississippi.