1928 Pictorial City Map of Portland, Maine

This is a 1928 Katherine Dudley chromolithograph pictorial city map or plan of Portland, Maine. The map depicts Portland from the Fore River to Mackworth Point and from the Presumpscot River to Fort Scammel and House Island. Whimsically illustrated, buildings throughout appear in profile labeled with white banners. These include schools, churches, the hospital, the public library, and the Y.M.C.A. Bug Light marks the entrance to Portland Harbor and the bay is filled with ships. Captain John Smith's vessel, which arrived in 1614, is evident, as are the Canceau, the Spitfire Bomb, and Captain Levett's 1623 expedition. The whole is bordered by a series of vignettes and inset maps depicting Portland's first church, first hotel, views State Street and Middle Street, and a view of Portland itself. The extraneous maps focus on Falmouth Neck, the Kennebunks, Sebaco Lake, and Prouts Neck.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominate method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

Created as a promotional piece for the Portland Baby Hygiene and Child Welfare Association (of which Dudley was a member), the map was 'designed, drawn, and colored by Katherine Dudley', copyrighted by the Tudor Press, and published by the Portland Baby Hygiene and Child Welfare Organization in 1928. The Portland Baby Hygiene and Child Welfare Organization was founded in 1919, was renamed the Catherine Morrill Day Nursery in 1920, and recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The OCLC records examples in the institutional collections of the Osher Map Library and the David Rumsey Map Collection at Stanford University.