1926 Ravenstein Hamburg-American Line Promotional Map of the World

An impressive c. 1931 Interwar Period wall map of the world promoting the Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG). The map shows HAPAG shipping routes, as well as its pleasure cruise services, and, most interestingly its, Zeppelin Airship Services from Spain to Brazil - the first trans-Atlantic commercial air routes!

Zeppelins! The First Trans-Atlantic Commercial Air Route

The map importantly notes the Cadiz-Pernambuco Zeppelin Route - the ephemeral first transatlantic commercial air route! Operated jointly by Hamburg-American and 'Deutsche Luftschifffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft' (DELAG), the route from Cadiz to Pernambuco and thence to Rio de Janeiro, is that of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, the most famous Zeppelin after the Hindenburg. The Cadiz-Pernambuco Route was inaugurated in 1931, when the Graf Zeppelin made 3 voyages. It proved popular, connecting the wealthy German plantation elite in Brazil with Europe and offering luxury of an ocean liner and the speed of an airliner. The DELAG operated the Graf Zeppelin for a total of 64 round-trip voyages before most Zeppelin routes were abandoned in the wake of the May 1937 Hindenburg disaster.

The Hamburg-American Line

Formally known as the 'Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft' (HAPAG), the Hamburg-American Line was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany, in 1847. It was founded by Albert Ballin (1857 - 1918), a German Jew from a wealthy mercantile family. The company originally focused on connections between European and American ports - being the primary vector for German Immigration to the Americas in the second half of the 19th century. By 1914, HAPAG expanded its operations to a global shipping network, becoming the world's largest shipping line. Despite the loss of most of its fleet during World War I, HAPAG persevered, rebuilding in the Interwar Period (1918 - 1939) - even expanding into Zeppelins. During World War II, the HAPEG's interests took another hard hit, with most of their fleet seized or destroyed. After the war, they once again rose from the ashes. In 1970, the company merged with its longstanding rival, Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen, to establish the present-day company Hapag-Lloyd.

Publication History and Census

This map is undated, but the presence of the ephemeral Graf Zeppelin route to Pernambuco and Rio de Janiero, and a proposed ongoing route to Buenos Aires, solidly dates it to 1931 or 1932. The map was printed for Hamburg-American by 'Geographische Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei Ludwig Ravenstein A.-G., Frankfurt am Main'. Rare. There is no known record of another example this map in the OCLC or otherwise online.