1934 A Good-Natured map of the United States Setting Forth the Services of the Greyhound Lines...
A good-natured map of the United States setting forth the services of The Greyhound Lines and a few principal connecting bus lines
By: Greyhound Lines
Date: 1934 (Published) Cleveland
Dimensions: 19 x 29.25 inches (48.3 x 74.3 cm)
This bright and fun pictorial map from 1934 is an object of true promotional Americana, designed to appeal to the burgeoning class of travelers who availed themselves of the services provided by Greyhound during the heyday of bus travel in the United States.
The first Greyhound bus began operation in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914 (see the illustration at the top center of the map). The Golden Gate Bridge had just opened (1937).
Caricatures and captions throughout the map run the gamut from humorous and charming to politically incorrect. A Texan in a ten-gallon hat and high-heeled boots boasts that “Thar’s room in Texas for all of Yurrup and half of Africa, yes suh.”
America’s ethnic and regional perceptions of itself are made manifest by caricatures throughout the map, whose illustrations condone the social and racial stereotypes denoted in the map’s pictorials—Native American Indians snake dancing, African-Americans picking cotton—all captioned with down home, folksy lingo.
Condition: It is in B condition with wear at some of the folds and a few small areas of paper loss. This map was published folding, and has subsequently been backed in linen.
Inventory #11048
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