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This is a decorative advertising and promotional map for McCormick & Company, promoting its worldwide trade in coffee, tea, spices, and flavorings. The map is a fascinating blend of a pictorial, historical, and geographical map, which shows such diverse subjects as the routes of early air and zeppelin travel, an illustration of its various products, and the flags and populations of major nations.

The illustrations shown include "Native Tea Pickers of Ceylon," "Natives Pulling Vanilla Beans in Mexico," and "Workers Loading Spices in India." The map includes a compass rose decorated with Bee Brand trademark. The map shows routes of famous aviators and the spices exported from nations around the world and little vignette illustrations include blimps, planes, and ships.

Of the more than thirty flags shown on the map, the US flag is left out. The map includes an interesting note that "The United States Flag is not shown on this folder in accordance with the Flag Code of the National Americanism Commission of the American Legion which requests that the flag be omitted from any form of advertising." This still forms part of the Flag Code, though it is, of course, little adhered to now.

The verso includes further advertisements, images, and text related to the company's products. The nature of pictorial maps is discussed, obviously, consumers are not used to seeing this map format yet. A game for is included with such questions as "In which country is Belgrade situated?" "To what country does Java belong?" "How do you test the quality of cinnamon?" and "What natural flower yields the most deadly insect powder?" The answers are even more intriguing, and if you thought Java belonged to Indonesia, you would be incorrect. A long essay on the spices of the world is also included.

McCormick & Company manufactures spices, herbs, and flavorings for retail, commercial, and industrial markets. The company was founded by Willoughby M. McCormick, in Baltimore in 1889. From one room and a cellar, the initial products were sold door-to-door and included root beer, flavoring extracts, fruit syrups, and juices. Seven years later, McCormick bought the F.G. Emmett Spice Company and entered the spice industry. Willoughby died on November 4, 1932, and Charles McCormick was elected President and Chairman of the Board at age 36. The big "Mc" became a trademark for nearly all U.S. products in 1941. McCormick acquired A. Schilling & Company of San Francisco in 1947.