1941 Leon Helguera Flying Clipper Ship Map of the World for Pan Am

This is a striking c. 1941 World War II era pictorial map of the world promoting the 'Flying Clipper Ship' routes of Pan American Airways. It was illustrated by the Mexican-American artist Leon Helguera, who went on to illustrate many widely admired war effort posters.

A Closer Look

Centered on the Americas, the map presents the world on a transverse oval Mollweide Projection. Pan-Am routes are highlighted in red and mostly service South America and the West Indies, but several routes reach as far as New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Longdon, Lisbon, Marseille, and various points in West Africa. Some routes are illustrated with dashed lines, specifically, routes that would have been impacted by World War II (1939 - 1945) in China and Europe. This is, perhaps, what the title refers to when it reads 'subsequent wartime changes censored.' In the lower left, we recognize the Boeing 314 Clipper, an American long-range flying boat produced from 1938 to 1941. It is contrasted with a traditional ocean-going clipper ship at the lower right. Another airliner, in the upper right, is the 4-engine Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner, redubbed the Strato-Clipper when adopted by Pan American in 1940. The title is flanked by a mermaid at left and, at right, the god Neptune.

Publication History and Census

This graphic was drawn by Leon Helguera and published by Pan American World Airway around 1941, or shortly thereafter, as the title indicates. It was drawn while Helguera was employed with the Manhattan firm Fisher-McKenzie, who was under contract with Pan American - he left this position in 1942 to support the Office of War Information (OWI). We see two variant examples in the David Rumsey Collection, one on paper, as here, and another on silk. This image is extremely rare, with no other institutional holdings and just one example appearing at auction in the last 10 years.