Catalog Archive
Auction 196, Lot 243

"Historical & Instructive Map of Detroit and ye Adjacent Territories, Showing ye Principal Points of Interest, Chief of Which Are ye Great Industrial Plants of Chrysler Corporation..."

Subject: Detroit, Michigan

Period: 1934 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Printed Color

Size:
15.2 x 17.1 inches
38.6 x 43.4 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

Designed by "ye olde cartographer" William Ogg Fitzgerald as a promotional map for the Chrysler Corporation, this handsome pictorial map centers on the Motor City. Its decorative style is a throwback to classic maps, but its emphasis is on the modern automobile industry. The Chrysler Engineering Building and the plants and headquarters for Dodge, Plymouth, and De Soto brands are prominently shown; the General Motors Building and Chevrolet Plant look paltry by comparison. An illustration demonstrates "ye airflow principle," showing the aerodynamic efficiency of one of the company's cars. The map includes several notes on the history of the area and extends to show nearby towns and cities and a small portion of Ontario. Roads are shown, with thick red lines indicating the routes to various Chrysler Motor Plants. At top right is a decorative title cartouche that shows an early French settler and local Indigenous peoples along with the logos of Chrysler, Plymouth, and De Soto, made to look like historical coats of arms.

References:

Condition: A

A colorful example, issued folding, with a couple of tiny holes along one fold only visible when held to light.

Estimate: $100 - $130

Sold for: $80

Closed on 2/7/2024

Archived