Indiana Map 1935 Pictorial Print - Gary, South Bend, Indianapolis

Ruth Taylor White drew this pictorial map of Indiana for Our U.S.A., A Gay Geography, a whimsical cartoon atlas published by Little, Brown, and Company in 1935 with text by Frank J. Taylor, covering all 48 states in fifty-eight full-color illustrated sheets. This sheet appears on page 37 of the atlas, printed in bright lithographed color and filled with small hand-drawn scenes rather than any conventional survey detail, a style built to entertain a Depression-era audience as much as inform it. Indiana is shown here through a mix of heavy industry near Lake Michigan and farming across its central and southern counties, the two identities that most shaped its popular image in the 1930s. Ruth Taylor White and Frank Taylor built the atlas as a joint effort, her illustrations paired with his short, wry captions, and the finished sheets sold well enough during the Depression that Little, Brown kept the title in print for several years after its first release.

The area near Lake Michigan is illustrated with industrial scenes likely referencing the steel mills of Gary, one of the state's largest manufacturing centers. South Bend appears with imagery tied to manufacturing, probably a nod to the automotive industry based there. Indianapolis is marked with racing imagery, a direct reference to the Indianapolis 500. Apple picking and general farming scenes fill in the central and southern parts of the state, reflecting Indiana's long agricultural heritage alongside its newer industries. Together the steel country, the racing capital, and the farmland sketch an Indiana balanced between heavy industry and agriculture.

An Indiana family with roots in Gary, South Bend, or the state's farm country will recognize this map's take on the state immediately, and it makes a distinctive gift for anyone who prefers a whimsical, Depression-era view of Indiana to a conventional antique survey. The store's other Indiana editions include Tanner's 1841 sheet, Morse's 1845 map, and Cram's 1878 printing, all standard survey-style cartography; this 1935 Little, Brown sheet is the only pictorial, cartoon-style map of the state the collection carries. It's printed unframed and available in a range of sizes to fit whatever wall it's headed for.