Entry Page
Bird’s Eye Views of Maine including Transportation Maps
Urban Maps
English County Maps
WWI & II Maps and Case List
School Geographies
--a. How Geography was Taught
--b. Illustration Methods
--c. Astronomy in the 19th Century Classroom
--d. Races and Societies
--e. National and Regional Identity
--f. Climatic Zones
--g. Globes in the Classroom
Road Maps
--a. New England Regional Imagery
--b. Ideal Family
--c. Gas Station Experience
--d. Race and Ethnic Groups
--e. War Maps
Wall Maps

Osher Map Library Home Page

TREASURES III

A Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education

October 2, 2004 - June 30, 2005

Road Maps
 

Gas Station Experience
By the late 1920’s over half of American families owned or had access to an automobile. With nearly 10 million cars on the road, thousands of gas stations began to dot the landscape. Attempting to make the gas station as more than merely as place to refuel, oil companies began featuring it as an attraction itself. Seeking to promote brand loyalty, companies issued maps that presented the station as a place of fun, safety, and service, with the theme of safety being most important. Safety had special significance for a particular type of consumer. Starting in the 1930’s, images of solo women motorists began gracing the covers of road maps. Earlier, women generally were shown as passengers, content to leave the driving and navigation to their male counterparts. Women were also shown thankfully relying upon the solace and protection provided by gas stations and their charismatic, trustworthy, male attendants. Slogans such as “Ask the Man at the Pump!” “Get a Thrilling Filling NOW!” and “Our Restrooms are Clean Across Canada” reminded the female driver that she could always turn to her favorite oil company for support if she became lost, exhausted, or was simply seeking a companionable respite in the midst of her touring.
	1. Ohio Sinclair Ohio Sinclair Road Map Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, ca. 1934 Doug Yorke Collection
	2. Tide Water Associated Oil Company Western United States Highways: “Let’s get ASSOCIATED” Tide Water Associated Oil Company, 1939 Doug Yorke Collection
	3. The Atlantic Refining Company Street Map of Miami, Miami Beach Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, ca. 1946 Bloom Collection
	4. Atlantic Imperial New York New York: Rand mcNally & Company, 1958 Doug Yorke Collection
	5. Standard Oil Company Indianapolis Rand McNally & Company, 1960 Bloom Collection
	6. Phillips 66 Georgia Phillips 66, 1984 Bloom Collection
	7. The British American Oil Co. LTD. Ontario Road Map B-A Service Products Bloom Collection
	Next: Race and Ethnic Groups