1945 California
By: Joseph Jacinto Mora
Date: 1945 (Published) Monterey, California
Dimensions: 24.25 x 18.25 inches (61.6 x 46.36 cm)
This delightful Jo Mora map is a detailed and whimsical look at the state of California. Mora loved California and he describes it in countless ways in the map, with humorous summaries, with vignettes in bright colors, and with painstakingly rendered topography.
Marvelous caricature vignettes of historical persons and major landmarks embellish the map. The vignettes feature historical Spanish style architectural edifices, oil wells, ski areas, flora and fauna, etc., with which Mora pays homage to the history of the state, its natural wonders, its industries and its inhabitants from different eras and cultures. A dedication in the title cartouche in which he calls himself an ‘adopted’ son of the state sums up Mora’s feelings about California.
The northern half of the state of Nevada is filled with people dressed to represent different eras in history, engaging in a variety of activities. The earliest are indigenous peoples, followed by Spanish explorers and the Conquistadores, then early American settlers, cowboys, Civil War soldiers, to modern times with skiers, soldiers and a football player in full play uniform. The southern half of the state is filled with the various means of conveyance which have been used throughout the history of the state, from early Spanish caravels and clipper ships to stagecoaches and horse drawn buggies, to trains, trucks, ships, automobiles and aircraft. Together they constitute a whimsical historical time line of the state of California.
About Joseph Jacinto Mora
Jo Mora was born in Uruguay in 1876. When he was four years old, his father, the sculptor Domingo Mora, moved the whole family to Massachusetts. Jo went to art school in New York City, a place he later described as full of precipitous sided canyons and underground burrows. Early on in his career, he worked for the Boston Herald as a cartoonist and illustrator, drawing scenes based on the news of the day. Over the course of his career, Mora explored a number of different mediums, including sculpture, painting, and coin design. He has been called the ‘Renaissance Man of the West’. His distinctive style resulted in his works becoming increasingly sought after throughout the map collecting community from his own time to the present.
Condition: This colorful vintage poster is in A condition with no tears or pinholes and full original margins on all sides. This map is not backed with linen, but can be for an additional charge.
Inventory #11729
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