This rare pictorial map of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was drawn by Ward Kimball, one of the key early Disney animators. One of "Disney's Nine Old Men," Kimball (1914-2002) was behind two Academy Award-winning short films and the designs for iconic characters like Jiminy Cricket and the Cheshire Cat. He was also a railroad enthusiast, which lead to the creation of this map for the California-Nevada Railroad Historical Society. The map shows the railroad's route from Reno to Carson City and shows part of Lake Tahoe, Washoe Lake, Virginia City, several mountains, and more. Kimball lovingly fills the map with visual gags and images of Old West Americana. Divorces outside Reno are represented by an ex-wife beheading her former husband; legendary stagecoach driver Hank Monk is chased by a bandit along the Geiger Grade; the Washoe Zephyrs are depicted as a windhead; a prison break is in progress at the state prison. The map appears in a 10-page booklet titled "Presenting the Second Excursion on the Virginia & Truckee Ry. to Railfans and Friends." Kimball illustrated the booklet's cover and contributed four additional illustrations inside, including an irreverent self-portrait as a "V. & T. Excursionist."

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Condition: B+

Map is clean and bright with two minor vertical extraneous creases and a touch of rust around the staples.