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Description

A Highly Unusual Manuscript Pictorial Map of American "Yale Ambulance Unit" on the Western Front of World War I.

An impressive and very unusual pictorial map showcasing American efforts on the Western Front during the closing years of World War I.

The map is executed largely in manuscript (including the routes of S.S.U. 585 and the locations of Foch and Petain), with all coloring done by hand in watercolor and gouache, the base map is possibly a photographic transfer of some kind, though it is difficult to determine exactly what the method is. It is possible that this combination of media and production process was related to the fact that the map has two makers, that is, perhaps one artist did the first section, before turning it over to the other to be finished.

Maps of this genre, showing the tours of duty of American troops in Western Europe, became very popular during the Second World War, but in the First World War they are much rarer, this being the first example we have encountered.

Below the title is an explanation of the map:

ROUTE of S.S.U 585, a section of the U.S. Army Ambulance Service with the French Army, attached to the French 128th Division, composed of the 167th, '68th, '69th Infantry, Commanded by Gen. Segonne. The 128th was known as "Les Loups du Bois Lepretre" (Wolves of The Priest Wood) a translation of the name given it by the Germans in 1914. In 1918 the Division was part of Gen. Mangins 10th Army (L'Armee d'attaque) under Le Maréchal Petain, Commander in Chief of the French Armies of the East. S.S.U 585 was engaged in the Aisne Defensive, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne & Ypres-Lys Offensives; cited-Ordre de la Division -- signed by Segonne; also Ordre du Corps d'armee - signed by Maréchal Petain

The map is ringed with a border sporting the division emblems of the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

The Record of S.S.U. 585 includes the following excerpt about one of the map's authors, Robert "Bob" Wylie:

...In his place came Bob Wylie, variously and affectionately known as "Dingbat," "Sleepy," "Whiz-bang" or "Pinard." It was a rough initiation, this bomb- dodging at Esquennoy, but Bob's sang froid smacked of the veteran. (page 52)

Wylie's car was destroyed by an artillery shell and he is also noted as having been decorated for the campaign.

Condition Description
Generally poor condition, though mostly complete. Pigment oxidation losses in the borders repaired with clear tape on recto and verso. Several other tears likewise repaired with clear tape. It is possible that a skilled restorer could remove the tape, however
Reference
Shivel, George (Editor-in-Chief), Record of S.S.U. 585. New York: 1920.