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Description

King Corn! 

Rare separately-issued thematic map of the United States, focusing on the "Corn Belt" of Midwest and Plains states, with surrounding text and vignettes highlighting the importance and uses of corn. The map features the factories of Corn Products Refining Company.

A superb bit of broadside boosterism illustrating the rise of corn as a major industrial agriculture product and omnipresent consumable. Along the bottom of the broadside is a series of images showing corn products used in a children's bath, on pancakes, on salads, and on desserts.

Along the left side are eight color vignettes relating to the theme "From Seed to Factory", including Modern Farming -- Plowing; Harrowing; Planting Corn; Cultivating a Corn Field; Picking and Husking Corn; Stacking Outdoors; Shelling Corn by Power; and Argo., Ill. Plant of the C.P.R. Co.

Along the right side are eight other color vignettes relating to the "Process of Manufacture", including Attrition or Foos Mills, Buhr Mills, Shakers, Starch Tables, Converters, Evaporators, Starch Kilns, Cerelose Centrifugals.

Corn Products Refining Company was founded in 1906. It suffered major losses during the 1930s (after this map was made) due to the Dust Bowl. As a result, it engaged futures contracts to protect itself from price volatility in the future. Corn Products' tax returns for the income and losses associated with these contracts later became the subject of a major tax and capital gain Supreme Court case Con Products Refining Co. v. Commissioner. The company is now called Ingredion Incorporated.

A beautiful bit of color-printing and an important document of the rise of corn to its central role in the American diet.

Rarity

While we were able to locate the copyright registration for the map, we were unable to locate any other examples.