1940 Eastern Air Lines Route Maps of The Great Silver Fleet
DESCRIPTION
A wonderfully illustrated survivor from the golden age of commercial aviation, this Eastern Air Lines route map is made even more compelling by handwritten notes recording an actual passenger journey aboard the airline's celebrated "Great Silver Fleet."
The Great Silver Fleet
Issued during the mid-1930s, this folding promotional map showcases Eastern Air Lines' growing network across the eastern United States. The recto features a colorful pictorial map filled with cartoon scenes highlighting regional industries, landmarks, and attractions. Coal miners work in Pennsylvania, race cars speed through Indianapolis and Daytona Beach, Mardi Gras unfolds in New Orleans, and Florida's beaches and citrus groves promote the pleasures of travel.
Dominating the composition is a streamlined aircraft representing Eastern's famous "Great Silver Fleet," a nickname derived from the airline's modern all-metal Douglas transports, most likely the Douglas DC-2.
Mapping Air Travel in the 1930s
The reverse contains five detailed strip maps covering Eastern's principal routes between New York, Richmond, Jacksonville, Miami, Chicago, and New Orleans. Cities, airports, railroads, roads, rivers, and connecting routes are carefully identified, while accompanying text introduces passengers to notable landmarks and destinations along the way.
The map also documents the infrastructure of early commercial aviation, showing airway beacons, intermediate airports, and regional connections that linked America's expanding air transportation network.
A Passenger's Personal Record
What makes this example particularly unusual are the manuscript notes left by a former traveler. Pencil annotations record flight details including crew names, arrival times, delays, and passenger counts, with one entry noting a departure one and one-half hours late carrying thirteen passengers. These firsthand observations transform the brochure into a rare and personal record of air travel during its pioneering years.
CONDITION
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