1980 Hancock Pictorial Map of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Florida

A pleasing c. 1980 pictorial view of Sanibel and Captiva Islands near Fort Myers, Florida, drawn by William Harold Hancock.

A Closer Look

Emphasizing the area's maritime orientation, the view includes ships, sailboats, and canoes, along with beachgoers, gulls, herons, alligators, and other fauna. On land, a main road (Sanibel Captiva Rd.) runs from the Sanibel Causeway to the end of Captiva Island. Local businesses and other communal sites are noted, including the post office, hotels and inns, resorts, churches, marinas, a shopping center, restaurants, golf courses, a natural sanctuary, and several locations of Priscilla Murphy Realty, which stand out prominently in white, suggesting that the view might have been produced for that business. The pirate ship at bottom left alludes to the history of piracy along the southern coast of Florida, 'though much of the supposed history of piracy near Sanibel and Captiva looks to be a myth, tied to the apocryphal figure José Gaspar (Gasparilla).

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by William Harold Hancock around the year 1980. There are no known examples in institutional collections and it is very scarce to the market.