1936 The Alaska Line - Alaska Steamship Company
DESCRIPTION
This vibrant pictorial map of the Territory of Alaska was published by the Alaska Steamship Company in the mid-1930s as a promotional guide to travel, commerce, and exploration across America’s northern frontier.
Richly colored and framed by stylized Northwest Coast Indigenous art motifs, the map combines geographic detail with strong graphic design, reflecting the popular illustrated travel posters of the interwar period. It was created to encourage tourism and commercial travel along the company’s extensive maritime routes, which served as the primary transportation network connecting Alaskan communities before statehood.
Geographic and Visual Detail
The map provides a comprehensive depiction of Alaska’s settlements, rivers, mountains, and coastlines, with major mining districts, canneries, transportation links, and territorial hubs marked prominently in red and green. Surrounding waters of the Pacific, Arctic, and Bering Seas are illustrated with shipping lines, compass radii, and a decorative inset showing the Alaska Steamship Company's strategic route between Seattle and Alaskan ports. An additional inset in the upper right highlights Southeast Alaska in greater detail and includes descriptive text introducing the territory’s industries, natural resources, and unique character.
Promotional Content and Travel Routes
A detailed legend in the lower left outlines the full range of Alaska Steamship Company routes, including the Southeastern Alaska Service, Southwestern Alaska Service, Bering Sea Service, and special seasonal or intercoastal operations. These routes underscore the company’s role as the dominant transportation provider throughout the region, linking isolated communities and supporting the mining, fishing, and tourism industries. Decorative elements such as the totem-like border, wildlife imagery, and the promotional slogan “The All-American Route” reinforce the map’s dual purpose as both practical guide and eye-catching advertisement.
This map captures Alaska at a pivotal moment when steamship travel served as the territory’s lifeline, decades before the development of modern highway or aviation networks. Issued before Alaska achieved statehood in 1959, it reflects both the romanticized vision of the territory promoted to American travelers and the real logistical challenges of navigating a vast, remote landscape. The map embodies the era’s fascination with adventure, resource development, and the growing appeal of tourism in the far north.
CONDITION
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