1934 Jolly Lindgren Humerous Pictorial Map of Yellowstone Park, First Edition

Rare First Edition of the Pioneering Lindgren Yellowstone Map.

This is the extremely rare 1934 first edition pictorial map of Yellowstone Park, 'hatched and scratched' by the American printer and humorist Jolly Lindgren. It is one of only a handful of silkscreen-printed maps produced by the Lindgren Brothers early in their career.

A Closer Look

The map depicts the whole of Yellowstone Park with a richly humorous array of vignettes and annotations. Indeed, even the title (maintained in later editions) is a joke here, as the map was neither famous (yet) nor did it include any changes from earlier versions, as there were none. Major roadways through the park are traced in red, with important locations, topography, and more illustrated pictorially. As the title suggests, 'smilage' is guaranteed to the viewer. Some of the amusing annotations include:

• Brimstone Basin (Hell for Certain)
• Grand Canyon (Don't Think it Ain't)
• Wahb Springs (Just a Little Cold in the Head)

Also the compass reads, 'This part is correct, so 'elp me'. A road at the bottom leads to Jackson Hole and the Tetons, but 'Not Reno I Hope,' likely a reference to the city's reputation at the time as a nationwide destination for couples seeking a divorce.

The New Deal

One comment incorporated into the map stands out. In the upper left, a bird with a speech bubble states, 'Looks Like a New Deal for the Park,' a reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal.' Although the country was suffering from the Great Depression, the national parks, as part of the 'New Deal' program, received unprecedented government support. Many of the most popular New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, were focused on national parks. Yellowstone alone saw more infrastructure construction because of the New Deal than in the entire history of the park up to that time. It has moreover been argued that the bright colors and humorous nature of the map are intended to inspire good spirits against the backdrop of national social and economic depression - as might be said of the entire genre of cartoon pictorial maps, which were experiencing a golden age at this time.

In another reference to contemporary events, the word 'Depression' has been crossed out of Depression Valley at the bottom-right. Although the Great Depression strained many industries, national park tourism flourished. The Lindgren Brothers successfully tapped into this market by offering humorous, souvenir-style maps to eager visitors. Starting with the 1934 Yellowstone release, Jolly introduced a consistent visual template that became his hallmark: a bold blue (or red) border featuring the title, yellow to represent land (a nod to Yellow-stone), red for roads, black for labels, and touches of green and blue to accent the illustrations.

Pioneering Silkscreen Printing

Lindgren's earliest maps were printed in multiple colors via photographic multi-layered silkscreen stencils, a laborious process that, while they did not invent, they did pioneer. (Ott Lindgren was likely introduced to the technique while serving in Europe during World War I). According to business partner Ted Turner Jr., they used Swiss sieve silk acquired from a local flower mill supply company. The paint was regular house paint, doctored to achieve the right consistency with a proprietary blend of starch, vinegar, and kerosene. The paint blend was applied in layers, with colors applied first, then black ink, each color pressed through the open stencil mesh using a squeegee blade. The result was replicable (in small numbers) prints in striking, vibrant colors.

Lindgren's earliest maps used this method and were printed on unusual, long-fiber, brownish paper. These include the first of Spokane County (1932), four subsequent 1933 maps issued in partnership with local advertising agent Lee R. Double (Eastern Washington County, Puget Sound County, Mount Rainier, and Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound Country), Yellowstone (1934, where the distinctive blue border was introduced), and Jackson Hole (1935). The use of silkscreen printing on Lindgren's initial map productions introduced elements that became synonymous with Lindgren's style - bold colors, simple print blocks, and thick lines.

Publication History and Census

This 1934 first edition was silkscreen printed on longfiber brown paper and is very rare. A 1936 edition, often incorrectly considered the first, has a solid blue border and is noticeably different from the present map. Another edition was issued slightly later with a shaded blue border and a green title cartouche. A third edition appeared in 1948 with a mileage chart overlaying Pitchstone Plateau, a new copyright, and some changes to the map itself. This was one of the Lindgren Brothers' earliest and most popular maps. The present example was printed via a silkscreen process, conforming to their earliest maps and proofs. We invite readers to read our evolving cartobibliography of Lindgren Brothers maps here: Hysterical Maps of the Lindgren Brothers: A Cartobibliography

There are only a handful of known examples of this first edition of the map in addition to the present offering, one held by the University of Wyoming and one by Stanford University / the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, while Montana State University hold an example dated c. 1933, perhaps a proof print or the result of miscataloging.

Cartographer

Lindgren Brothers (1928 – 1971) was a Spokane, Washington, based printer known for issuing humorous souvenir auto decals, maps, and posters. The firm was founded as a sign-painting company by Hjalmer 'Jolly' Lindgren (1895 - September 1952) and his brother Oscar 'Ott' Lindgren (1893 - 1967), born in Wisconsin to Swedish immigrants. Neither brother had middle names when they went off to fight in World War I (1914 - 1818), but as the government required it, they adopted Jolly and Ott, which stuck with them for life. Jolly was in charge of the art department and Ott was in charge of the business aspects of the firm. The company began as printers and sign makers, and also became innovators in silkscreen printing, and as the Great Depression deepened, Jolly began producing 'hysterical maps'. He declared at the time, ‘What this country needs now is something to put a smile on people's faces.' The maps are graphically interesting and intended, as the titles suggest, to amuse. The brothers focused on producing maps of popular tourist attractions, and the great national parks of the West were an obvious choice. They produced maps of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Glacier, Zion, Bryce Canyon and others through the early 1940s. Following a hiatus during World War II (1939 - 1945), the company began producing car decals, some of which were simplified versions of the ‘hysterical maps'. The company sold more than ten million decals in a good year. In 1949, the company was renamed the Lindgren-Turner Company when their traveling salesman, Theodore 'Ted' Turner, Jr. (1902 - 1989), who had been with the firm since 1930, became a partner. Jolly died unexpectedly at 57 while visiting his daughter in Boise, Idaho. The firm continued under his brother, Oscar. William Shigeo Terao (1915 - 1990), who was hired after World War II by the Lindgrens and eventually became the firm's art director, created two more hysterical maps following Jolly's death. The company's last great success, after the decal market had become too competitive, was a sign that read 'No Trespassing, Survivors will be Prosecuted'. The signs became a massive success, eventually being sold in every Woolworth's department store nationwide - all 2,228 locations. Ott died in 1967 at the age of 74, leaving Turner as the last member of the original team. He, in turn, sold the firm to the Emblem Manufacturing Company based in Los Angeles, in February 1971 and he and his wife moved to New Mexico three years later to be closer to their daughter. Turner wrote a history of the Lindgren-Turner Company during his retirement and died at the age of 87 in 1989.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Some old pin damage to all four corners, repaired, with some reinstatement.

References

Rumsey 13336.000. OCLC 46344020, 41588967.