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1950 Petruccelli American Airlines Route Map of the United States and Europe
AmericanAirOverseas-petruccelli-1950$225.00
Title
American Airlines Overseas Service Plotting Chart.
1950 (undated) 17 x 32 in (43.18 x 81.28 cm) 1 : 13450000
1950 (undated) 17 x 32 in (43.18 x 81.28 cm) 1 : 13450000
Description
This is a 1950 Antonio Petruccelli American Airlines route map of the United States and Europe. Published at the dawn of the Jet Age (although jet airliners would not be introduced to the U.S. until later in the decade), this map is part of the legacy of increased civilian airline travel in the years after World War II (1939 - 1945) and the advent of relatively easy global travel.
A Closer Look
Red lines highlight American Airlines' network throughout the United States and northern Europe. American Airlines connected cities throughout the U.S. with northern Europe: Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Moscow, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Warsaw, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Thin red lines illustrate connecting routes in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Central America.Publication History and Census
This map was drawn by Antonio Petruccelli and published in 1950 by the General Drafting Company for American Airlines. We note two examples cataloged in OCLC: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Memorial University of Newfoundland. An example is also part of the David Rumsey Map Collection. There has been considerable mistaking of this map in institutional collections, but a 1950 entry in the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyrights settles the question.CartographerS
Antonio Petruccelli (1907-1994) began his career as a textile designer. Petruccelli became a freelance illustrator in 1932 after winning several House Beautiful cover illustration contests. His work eventually appeared on the covers of Fortune, The New Yorker, Collier’s Today and House Beautiful magazines. ‘Tony was Mr. Versatility for Fortune. He could do anything, from charts and diagrams to maps, illustrations, covers, and caricatures,’ said Francis Brennan, the art director for Fortune. Over the course of his career, Petruccelli won several important design awards. Antonio Petruccelli died at age 87 on November 11, 1994. More by this mapmaker...
General Drafting Corporation (1909 - 1992) was one of the 'Big Three' publishers of road maps between 1930 and 1970, along with H. M. Gousha and Rand McNally. Founded in 1909, Otto G. Lindberg, an immigrant from Finland and the company's founder, began his business with a borrowed drafting board and a $500 loan from his father. At the time only twenty-three years old, Lindberg advertised his business as 'any and all general drafting' and was based out of 170 Broadway in New York City. Only two years later, in 1911, the firm secured its first contract from the American Automobile Association to make 'road maps'. Lindberg incorporated his business in 1914 and became its first Chairman of the Board, a position he held until his death in 1968. Lindberg persuaded Standard Oil of New Jersey to let him draw the 'best' road map of the state that they had ever seen, and Standard Oil would distribute it for free. Sufficiently impressed with the finished product, Standard contracted General Drafting to make all their road maps - a relationship that lasted another six decades. This relationship allowed General Drafting to work exclusively for Standard Oil, but when oil companies stopped providing free maps, General Drafting was in a bind. The company tried to expand into the retail map market, and it of course continued creating maps for Exxon (the new name for Standard Oil) to sell, but its returns continued to decline. The firm was purchased in 1992 by Langenscheidt and subsequently absorbed into the American Map Company. General Drafting's state maps became this company's 'Travelvision' lineup. Learn More...
Condition
Excellent. Light wear along original fold lines.
References
Rumsey 11761.000. OCLC 835969374, 234141211.