Antique E-Z Guide Map of Los Angeles with Rotating Locator, 1927
DESCRIPTION: An unusual and highly decorative 1927 street map of Los Angeles featuring an ingenious original rotating wooden locator, published as an advertising map for the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
The detailed map covers central Los Angeles and the rapidly developing surrounding communities, including Hollywood, Glendale, South Pasadena, Inglewood, Huntington Park and Vernon. Numerous period landmarks and destinations are identified, including Griffith Park, Elysian Park, Exposition Park and Hollywood Cemetery.
What makes this map particularly distinctive is its interactive E-Z locating system. A wooden pointer is attached to the map by its original metal rivet. The circumference of the map is numbered while the pointer carries letters from A to Z. By consulting the extensive street and place-name index, the user could rotate the pointer to the appropriate combination of letter and number and quickly locate a destination on the map.
The large index at left lists hundreds of Los Angeles streets and locations, while the printed red and green lines distinguish principal automobile routes, municipal boundaries and branches of the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
Published on substantial card stock for Security Trust & Savings Bank. The original folding cover survives and advertises the bank's 55 locations throughout metropolitan Los Angeles. The lower imprint on the cover is dated 12-27, confirming publication in 1927.
A fascinating survivor from the explosive growth of Los Angeles during the 1920s and an especially appealing piece for collectors of California, Los Angeles, early motoring, advertising and unusual cartographic design.
CREATOR
Clason Map Company
PUBLISHER
Security Trust & Savings Bank, Los Angeles
DATE
1927, dated
MEDIUM
Lithographically printed map in red, green and black on card stock, with original rotating wooden locator and metal rivet.
DIMENSIONS
Approximately 16.6 × 12.8 inches (42.2 × 32.5 cm).
CONDITION
Good antique condition. Issued folding, with the original fold lines, scattered spotting, age toning and light wear along the folds and edges. The important rotating wooden locator remains present and attached. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.
STYLE
Art Deco / American Commercial Cartography / Early Motoring & Travel
SUBJECT
Los Angeles, California; Hollywood; Glendale; urban development; street mapping; automobiles; banking and advertising.
NOTES
An original 1927 map, not a modern reproduction. The surviving movable locator is an integral and particularly unusual feature of the map. Sold unframed.
Bartele Gallery. Original antique maps, sea charts, engravings and works on paper. This is a plain text rendering of a page that is otherwise built in the browser. The catalogue index is at https://www.bartele.net/catalogue and machine readable notes are at https://www.bartele.net/llms.txt.