1983 Graphic Systems Promotional Pictorial Map of St. Petersburg, Florida

Point of Pines

This is an unrecorded 1983 promotional pictorial map of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Pinellas Peninsula prepared by the company Graphic Systems. Among other features, it includes an illustration of a local attraction, the MGM Bounty, a full-scale replica of the HMS Bounty built by the film studio for the 1962 film about the famous mutiny.

A Closer Look

The map covers much of the Pinellas Peninsula, tracing and labelling highways, major roads, and several local businesses (mostly restaurants and hotels, as well as a dinner cruise offering a ten percent discount to anyone with a copy of the map). Local landmarks and beaches are labeled with an old-fashioned Tudor-style font recalling the era of Caribbean buccaneers. Illustrations of ships and sea creatures surround the map, while larger advertisements for local businesses appear in the margins.

The verso includes additional advertisements and a large illustration of the MGM Bounty. This ship was a faithful replica of the famous HMS Bounty built by film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the eponymous 1962 film. In an unprecedented move, MGM looked at sources in the British Admiralty archives to construct the ship from scratch, with a crew of more than 200 building the ship in eight months' time in Nova Scotia. As the ship would need to be sailed to filming locations further south, it was designed to be fully functional on the high seas. Though it was originally intended to be burned, actor Marlon Brando, who appeared in the film, advocated for its preservation. After a worldwide promotional tour, the ship docked in St. Petersburg as a tourist attraction, occasionally being used for film and television shots afterwards. The businessman Ted Turner acquired the MGM film library, and the ship with it, and since then, it has spent the summer in Fall River, Massachusetts, and winters in St. Petersburg.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the local firm Graphic Systems. It is undated, but an advertisement at bottom-right on the recto mentions a promotional rate expiring July 31, 1983. We have been unable to locate any other examples of this map in institutional collections or on the mark.

Condition

Very good. Slight soiling and wear on original fold lines.