1948 Jolly Lindgren 'Hysterical' Map of Jackson Hole and Grand Teton, Wyoming

A blend of the comic and the practical, this is a 1948 Jolly Lindgren larger format pictorial map of Jackson Hole and Grand Teton, Wyoming. This is one of the rarer of Lindgren's 'Hysterical' map series, which gained popularity against the grim backdrop of first the Great Depression and World War II.

A Closer Look

The map is loosely centered on the Cathedral Group, with Jackson Lake just north of center. 'Hysterical' vignettes and captions throughout provide humorous commentary on Grand Teton, Jackson Hole, and the vicinity. On the more serious side, Lindgren marks hotels, campsites, ranger stations, shops, mountains, trails, and other key locations. There are several references to hamburgers, including 'Hamburgers (on the hoof) and 'Jackson Hamburgers'.

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929 in northwestern Wyoming. It is renowned for its stunning mountain landscapes and diverse wildlife. The park dates back to efforts by conservationists like John D. Rockefeller Jr., who played a crucial role in expanding the park. Initially, only the Teton Range and some surrounding lakes were protected, but in the 1940s, Rockefeller quietly purchased over 35,000 acres of land in the Jackson Hole Valley and donated it to the federal government. This led to the park's expansion in 1950, two years before this map was made, creating the Grand Teton National Park as it is known today. The park preserves not only the dramatic Teton Range but also the cultural history of Native Americans, early pioneers, and fur trappers who once inhabited the region.

Lindgren's 'Hysterical' Maps

Between roughly 1930 and 1950, Hjalmer 'Jolly' Lindgren (1895 - September 1952) and his brother Oscar 'Ott' Lindgren (1893 - 1967) issued a series of 'Hysterical Maps' detailing American national parks and monuments. Jolly was the artist while his brother, Oscar, ran the business. Jolly imagined the maps as comic relief, as well as a reminder of the world's most beautiful places during both the Great Depression and the subsequent World War II (1939 - 1945) Era. He wrote, 'What this country needs now is something to put a smile on people's faces.' The maps are graphically interesting and intended, as the titles suggest, to amuse. The brothers focused on producing maps of popular tourist attractions, and the great national parks of the West were an obvious choice. They produced maps of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Glacier, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and others through the early 1940s. Some were also issued as postcards. Today, Lindgren's larger maps are highly desirable, and many are extremely rare. There is no complete census of Lindgren's full corpus.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Jolly Lindgren and first published by Lindgren Brothers in 1948. Lindgren made multiple maps of Jackson Hole, and while some of the humor persists throughout the series, each is unique, reflecting the regional developments between 1935 and 1950. The first map appeared in 1935, with a red-bordered variation following in 1936. In 1947, a new map was issued, extending coverage. In 1948, this map, another new production, was issued.