Oren Arnold
Map of the United States as Arizonans See It, 1952
8 ½ x 10 in
21 x 26 cm
21 x 26 cm
USA9969
A humourously distorted Mid-Century map of the United States as seen by Arizonans. The Grand Canyon State, watched over by a winking sun (cleverly placed to obscure California), is shown...
A humourously distorted Mid-Century map of the United States as seen by Arizonans. The Grand Canyon State, watched over by a winking sun (cleverly placed to obscure California), is shown as a golden beacon of fun and warmth in an otherwise hostile or freezing land. The rest of the country is beset by earthquakes, dangerous waters, mosquitoes and swamps, smoke and slums, is mis-labeled, or is an blank void.
The map appears to be aimed primarily at New York snow birds as a bright yellow arrow stretching from New York to Arizona optimistically measures a distance of "200 easy miles". In comparison, a black, wavy arrow notes the distance to Florida as "20,000 dangerous miles". Nearby beach resorts, such as Rhode Island ("Road Island") and Long Island, are marked as small, empty islands floating off the coast. Upstate New York and New England are depicted as a "cultural and political void". Similarly, the state of Florida, a chief competitor for New Yorkers seeking winter sun, is amusingly slandered as a mosquito-infested swamp surrounded by shipwrecks, alligators, hurricanes, and sharks.
Meanwhile, Arizona contains every possible attraction or amusement, including the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead, great fishing, lucky clovers, hammocks and chaise longues, and dates (both kinds).
While many different maps were published along the theme of "The United States as seen by ____" during this period, very few can compare to this map for humour, attractive design, and audacious boasting. The author, Oren Arnold, had previously published a "Map of the United States as Californians See It" in 1947, but perhaps his allegiances had shifted by 1952. Arnold has even depicted himself laying comfortably in the southwest corner of the state next to the word 'paradise'.
Printed colour. [USA9969]
The map appears to be aimed primarily at New York snow birds as a bright yellow arrow stretching from New York to Arizona optimistically measures a distance of "200 easy miles". In comparison, a black, wavy arrow notes the distance to Florida as "20,000 dangerous miles". Nearby beach resorts, such as Rhode Island ("Road Island") and Long Island, are marked as small, empty islands floating off the coast. Upstate New York and New England are depicted as a "cultural and political void". Similarly, the state of Florida, a chief competitor for New Yorkers seeking winter sun, is amusingly slandered as a mosquito-infested swamp surrounded by shipwrecks, alligators, hurricanes, and sharks.
Meanwhile, Arizona contains every possible attraction or amusement, including the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead, great fishing, lucky clovers, hammocks and chaise longues, and dates (both kinds).
While many different maps were published along the theme of "The United States as seen by ____" during this period, very few can compare to this map for humour, attractive design, and audacious boasting. The author, Oren Arnold, had previously published a "Map of the United States as Californians See It" in 1947, but perhaps his allegiances had shifted by 1952. Arnold has even depicted himself laying comfortably in the southwest corner of the state next to the word 'paradise'.
Printed colour. [USA9969]
