1935 Huber Pictorial Map of Rhodes, Greece

This is a 1935 Egon Huber pictorial map of Rhodes. An astounding illustration of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) immediately demands the viewer's attention. Cities and towns are beautifully illustrated, along with the stunning countryside across the island. A knight carrying a shield bearing the symbol of the Knights Hospitaller (headquartered on Rhodes from 1310 to 1522) is illustrated slaying a dragon. Groups of Rhodians are illustrated dancing, picking grapes, hunting, weaving, and celebrating. The Rosa d'Oro, what looks to be a now defunct automobile race in Rhodes, is illustrated near the bottom of the island. A view of the city of Rhodes is illustrated in the upper left corner. The white lines and use of the map's background color lend a slightly eerie air to the illustration.

Egon Huber

We have been unable to unearth any concrete information about this map's creator, Egon Huber. The overwhelming consensus among reference sources is that he was born in 1926 and arrived on Rhodes in 1931. He then became a successful potter and worked with ICARO / IKAROS pottery on Rhodes, where he eventually became the technical director of the IKAROS factory. If that birth date is correct, that would mean that Huber was nine when he created this pictorial map of Rhodes, which raises more questions than it answers.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Egon Huber and published by the Italian State Tourist Department (ENIT) in 1935. We note two cataloged examples. One is part of the collection at Princeton University and the other appears in OCLC and is part of the collection at the National Library of Israel. This map occasionally appears on the private market.