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This pictorial map of the Metropolitan Oakland Area offers a vibrant and lighthearted depiction of wartime East Bay life during the 1940s. Rendered in an animated, cartoon style redolent of Ruth Taylor White, the map highlights Alameda County’s key urban and suburban centers, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, San Leandro, and surrounding districts, interlaced with stylized streets, transit lines, and whimsical vignettes. Each area is brought to life through miniature illustrations of local industries, leisure activities, and civic features: sailboats skim across San Francisco Bay, UC Berkeley’s Campanile looms in silhouette, and the Bay Bridge connects the East Bay to San Francisco with cheerful ease.
Surrounding the map are photographic insets promoting the region’s attributes, such as shopping in downtown Oakland, education at Mills College, recreation at Lake Merritt, and manufacturing prowess in East Bay industries. The layout serves as a promotional tool for the region’s cultural and economic dynamism at mid-century, suggesting a locale of opportunity, beauty, and community spirit during wartime.
Rarity
A rare Bay Area pictorial map. We cannot readily find other examples. Not in Rumsey.
States
On the verso of this map is a handwritten letter from a U.S. serviceman (George) stationed in California during World War II, addressed to a relative or friend. Dated February 25, 1944, the letter vividly evokes the experience of a soldier awaiting deployment or reassignment, reflecting on life in wartime California.
On the face of the map, he has marked Government Island ironically, "this is the place (Alcatraz)".
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