1945 Thomas Bros. Map of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland

Bay Area in the Early Postwar Period.

An impressively c. 1945 large-format Thomas Brothers indexed folding map of San Francisco. The verso includes an equally comprehensive map of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, and other East Bay cities. Together, they reflect the development and integration of the Bay Area in the years before, during, and after World War II (1939 - 1945).

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from Lake Merced in the south to the Golden Gate Bridge in the north and from the Great Highway in the west to Hunters Point in the east. The map notes all major streets, piers, parks, cemeteries, and reservoirs, along with streetcar, cable car, and bus lines and other features. A street index is included at right, corresponding to a grid surrounding the map, as well as indexes of points of interest in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Civic Center, and beyond. Illustrations appear throughout, depicting buildings, recreational opportunities, and other local characteristics.

The map reflects the state of the city around the end of World War II (1939 - 1945) when it neared a configuration resembling that of today, with the Sunset and southern parts of the city almost fully developed. Ghosted-in streets in the McLaren Park Site shown here were never built, although parts of the originally designated parkland were put to other uses over the years. In 1946, the park's current boundaries were fixed, and it was properly developed as a park with playgrounds, walking trails, sports fields, and a golf course.

Verso Map

This map is oriented towards the northeast, depicting the cities of the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), including Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, Piedmont, Albany, Emeryville, and part of El Cerrito. An alphanumeric grid surrounds the map and corresponds to street indexes of individual East Bay cities situated around the map. Roads, rail and streetcar lines, city and county limits, and waterways are clearly denoted. The University of California (Berkeley) is situated towards the top left. The presence of U.S. military facilities, marked with American flags, is exceptionally prominent, including the Alameda Naval Air Station and the Oakland Army Base.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by Thomas Brothers around 1945. The recto and verso maps also may have been separately issued, though the lack of a dated copyright makes this difficult to verify. A map closely resembling the recto map was printed in color for Thomas Bros.' San Francisco Info-Guide (previously sold by us). However, there are other slight differences aside from coloration between that map and the present one (for example, the present map lacks Laurel Hill and Cavalry Cemeteries, which were in the process of being relocated c. 1945). The present map also very closely resembles another Thomas Bros. map of the era sold by us (SanFranciscoEastBay-thomasbros-1945), which also folds into a cover titled 'Thomas Bros. Street Map.' But there are minor differences, such as in coloration (two tones versus three), the lack of grid numbers in the right margin here, and the number in the bottom-left corner of each map, presumably an internal reference system used by Thomas Bros. Due to uncertainty over date and the similarity of titles of Thomas Bros. maps of this era, a true census is difficult to establish, though examples of either the two-tone or three-tone map with this exact title are noted among the holdings of the California State University Northridge, Indiana University, and University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the OCLC. A map held by the Newberry Library (OCLC 988033375) also appears to match the present map.

Cartographer

Thomas Brothers (1915 – 1999) was a prominent California-based English-American publisher specializing in maps and guidebooks. Founded in Oakland in 1915 by George Copeland Thomas, Guilbert Thomas, and Leonard Thomas, the company began modestly, selling maps of movie stars' homes from a Hollywood street corner, before developing into a major cartographic and guidebook publisher. Following George Thomas's death in 1955, his widow retained attorney Warren Wilson to organize the company's affairs. When none of the Thomas heirs expressed interest in continuing the business, Wilson and accountant Tom Tripodic purchased it, preserving the Thomas Brothers tradition while pursuing a new direction and eventually relocating the company's headquarters from San Francisco to Irvine, California. The firm prospered under Tripodic, growing to more than 200 employees and dominating the West Coast map market. Rand McNally acquired Thomas Brothers in 1999, laid off many of its experienced cartographers and employees in 2003, and closed the company's remaining California operations in 2009.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Light wear along original folds. Oakland map on verso. Accompanied by original binder.

References

OCLC 1056157854, 988033375.