1939 Pakay Pictorial Map of Manhattan, New York City

This is a c. 1939 Pakay pictorial map of Manhattan, New York City. Manhattan occupies the center of the map and stylized illustrations mark iconic landmarks: the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Square Garden, the American Museum of Natural History, Washington Arch in Washington Square Park, Grant's Tomb, and Columbia University. New York's world-famous bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge, are illustrated as well. Yankee Stadium, the New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, and the Navy Yard are identified in the outer boroughs. The 1939 World's Fair in Queens is also illustrated, allowing us to put an approximate date on this piece. A charming poem in the lower right reads,

Here's a map of life's mad pattern
as you'll find it in Manhattan
all crowded in so small a space
but much the same as any place.

The whole is surrounded by a charming 'quilted' border that features illustrations of a Native American chief, a Dutch female settler, Dutch wooden shoes, and a dancer, likely performing at one of Manhattan's many theaters.

Publication History and Census

This map was created c. 1939 by an artist known only as 'Pakay'. This is the only known cataloged example.