1934 Edward Camy Pictorial Map of Alaska, Alternate Printing

A delightful 1934 first edition pictorial map of Alaska drawn by Edward Camy to promote 'The Alaska Line.

A Closer Look

Prepared in the style of Jo Mora, Camy's map covers most of Alaska and parts of the Yukon and British Columbia as far south as Seattle. For a place shrouded in twilight for several months a year, this map is remarkably bright and sunny - no doubt an attempt by the Alaska Line to offset the image of Alaska as cold and dreary. Cartoonish vignette illustrations elaborate on Alaska's flora, fauna, culture, scenery, mineral wealth, and the activities that can be enjoyed there. The route of the steamship line along as it weaves around the Islands near Sitka on its way to Valdez and Kodiak is noted. Other routes go directly to Nome or island hop on the Aleutians. An inset map in the upper right offers the option to disembark in Cordova or Seward for an inland rail tour, the former going to Fairbanks, visiting Mount McKinley and Anchorage before re-embarking at Seward. A cartoon strip along the bottom of the map follows the adventures of two travelers as they dine, dance, sleep, and play their way up the coast (mentioning the trip's affordability, a major selling point given the ongoing Great Depression). A whale in the lower left is advertised as a 'portable geyser'. Santa Claus appears with his reindeer at the top right, shouting, 'Giddap Blitzen!'

Publication History and Census

This map first appeared in 1934 in the present edition. There were two printings of this first edition: the present one with the dog at bottom-right below the text 'All transportation lines…,' and an alternate printing (also sold by us) with slightly different coloration in places and a ship, plane, and train in place of the dog, below different text to the same effect. In any event, after 1934, the map was subsequently reissued several times with minor changes. An issue in 1939 features a slightly different color scheme, and a 1940 edition appears as a folding pamphlet with printing on both sides.