1936 McCaffrey Pictorial Map of Seattle, Washington

Celebrating Seattle.

This is a rare 1936 Frank McCaffrey / Dogwood Press pictorial map of Seattle, Washington, and environs. The map was drawn, in the author's own words, to inspire readers to 'linger, and in imagination, explore the ever-changing panorama.'

A Closer Look

Looking east toward Mount Rainier, the map depicts from Ballard to White Center and from Bellevue to Puget Sound. Locations are identified throughout, including schools, parks, lakes, golf clubs, museums, and hospitals. Seattle residents add charm and comedy to the piece: a high school student reading a Latin textbook, a Great Northern railroad conductor, a University of Washington student daydreaming about a girl, and a surprising number of golfers. McCaffrey's signature 'dogwoods' appear here and there throughout the map, including in the title. The history of Seattle (divided into 14 'chapters') appears below and to the right of the map. The offices of Dogwood Press appear just left of center.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by Frank McCaffrey's Dogwood Press, with editions in 1934 and 1936 (present example). The University of Washington holds examples of both editions, while the Seattle Public Library holds an example of the 1934 edition. We note only one other instance when this map has appeared on the private market in the last decade.

Cartographer

Frank McCaffrey (1894 - 1985) was an American artist, publisher, letterpress printer, and politician. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McCaffrey moved to Spokane, Washington, with his family at the age of four. After finding a fascination with printing at a very young age, McCaffrey began an apprenticeship in Spokane and by 1913 he was working as a journeyman printer in Seattle, where he would spend the rest of his life. McCaffrey bought Acme Press, a commercial publishing firm in Seattle, in 1919 and in 1931 founded Dogwood Press as a trademark within Acme. For McCaffrey, his artistic goal when printing a book was for the book's presentation to 'reflect and enhance its content'. At Dogwood, he printed 'for the pleasure of the doing' and saw 'the same opportunity for subtle expression of personality as painting or modeling' in printing. Dogwood served as his creative outlet and was home to some of his 'finest and most limited productions'. Works published by Dogwood even had certain hallmarks, such as stout boards covered with patterned cloth and rough, untrimmed page edges. Printing, for McCaffrey, was always a personal pursuit. He sold Acme in 1952, but kept Dogwood, and continued printing. He produced pamphlets for friends and an occasional hardback book. McCaffrey loved to champion Seattle authors and history and, in 1980, he donated a large quantity of printing materials to the newly formed book arts program at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. McCaffrey served for two-and-a-half-years on Seattle's city council and ran for mayor twice.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Infilled pinholing in all four corners. Light toning.

References

OCLC 48106951.