1965 Threlfall Fantasy Map of Wanderland

This is Philippa Threlfall's rare 1965 illustrated map of 'Wanderland,' published by the toymaker James Galt and Company, including many references to traditional nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

A Closer Look

The view overlooks an imagined seaside village and the surrounding countryside, dotted with country homes, a church, a fair (Strawberry Fair), and a castle, from which the Grand Old Duke of York and his ten thousand men are marching. A path leading through this landscape begins at the bottom-left and is inspired by the rhyme 'There was a crooked man / Who walked a crooked mile…,' the man himself appears at the top-right. Illustrations and text throughout refer to traditional English fairy tales, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Some of these remain popular today (Humpty Dumpty, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Rock-a-bye Baby), and while others are now less well-known ('Cock a doodle doo / My dame has lost her shoe,' 'This is the maiden all forlorn / That milked the cow with the crumpled horn' from The House That Jack Built).

Fantasy and Escapism

This map falls into a genre of fantasy and fairy tale maps that were popular in the 20th century. Often, the popularity of these maps corresponded to major and traumatic historical events, perhaps offering escapism to children, but also reflecting the difficulties of childhood and the times. Classics in this tradition are Bernard Sleigh's 'Ancient Mappe of Fairyland' (1918, World War I), Luxor Price's 'All Mother Goose Panorama' (1923, World War I and the Interwar Period), and Jaro Hess' 'The Land of Make Believe' (1930, the onset of the Great Depression), all previously sold by us. Like these predecessors, the present map contains dark and disturbing undertones (as do many nursery rhymes) alongside cheerier content, like the smiling sun at the top. This complexity is achieved, in part, through the employment of hand painting, resulting in textured, multifaceted illustrations. In terms of historical context, this map was produced in the midst of the Baby Boomers' rebelliousness, in part a delayed reaction to the horrors of World War II (1939 - 1945) and the threat of global nuclear annihilation that would define youth culture for decades afterwards. The map also coincides with a post-World War II renewed interest in folk culture in Great Britain, which incidentally also strongly influenced the 1960s music scene.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Philippa Threlfall and published by toy manufacturer James Galt and Company in 1965. Although hundreds of copies of the map were likely printed, they were typically hung in children's rooms, leading to a low survival rate. We have been unable to locate any other examples of this map in institutional collections or on the market. Threlfall's shop, the Black Dog Decorative Tiles, now sells reproductions of the map, but few originals like the present example remain today.