1944 Rand McNally Pictorial Highway Map of Washington

This is a 1944 pictorial highway map of the state of Washington, prepared by Rand McNally for the Washington Department of Highways.

A Closer Look

Bright red highlights state highways, with notations indicating road grades (double pavement, paved, improved, and dirt roads). Cities and towns are labeled throughout the state, with Spokane, Seattle, and Tacoma appearing in large bold lettering. Bright red areas highlight Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park. Counties are divided by yellow lines to allow for differentiation. The whole is surrounded by a pictorial border featuring images of Olympic National Park, Grand Coulee, Mount Rainier, Yakima Canyon, and the Grand Coulee Dam, along with others.

Verso Content

The verso contains information provided by the Automobile Club of Washington, the local affiliate of the Automobile Association of America (AAA), including the state's motor vehicle regulations and information for dealing with Canadian customs when crossing the border. Promotional text also discusses various attractions in the 'evergreen playground,' such as Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Grand Coulee Dam, which had only become operational two years prior. A mileage chart with distances between various sites and cities in Washington appears near the title panel. Four inset maps of Tacoma, Seattle, Bellingham, and Yakima appear at the bottom right.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Rand McNally and Company, lithographed by the North Pacific Bank Note Company, and published in 1944 by the State of Washington Department of Highways and AAA. Editions of this map were published in 1939, 1941, 1942, 1944, and 1949 (all of which have been digitized by the Washington State Department of Transportation Library), leading to some confusion in catalog listings. In fact, there are two 1944 printings, one with images and photographs on the verso published solely by the Department of Highways and the present example with information for AAA on the verso. From one edition to the next, the map appears to be unchanged while the verso content differs. Nonetheless, the map is scarce on the market, and the OCLC seems to record both 1944 printing in only six institutions, while an example is also held by the Washington State Department of Transportation Library (with the Department of Highways verso) and the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.