Biographical Note
Hal Shelton (1916-2004) was artist-cartographer. He is known for painting natural-color maps with the apparent detail and realism of satellite images—years before the launching of the first satellites.
Shelton worked for the U.S.G.S. from 1938 to 1949.
Shelton began his natural-color map career with a U.S.G.S. colleague by making freelance recreational maps of Colorado.
The maps attracted the attention of Elrey Borge Jeppesen, a United Airlines pilot who had started a company that published aeronautical charts and other navigational information for pilots. He also wanted to publish general maps that catered to the increasing numbers of air travelers. Jeppesen believed that Shelton’s natural-color maps would provide airline passengers with more relevant information than conventional maps.
Jeppesen and Shelton teamed up in the early 1950s, and their business association spanned two decades, yielded more than 30 titles in what was to become The Jeppesen Natural-Color Map Series.
In 1961, Elrey Jeppesen sold his firm to the Times Mirror Publishing Company of Los Angeles but remained on as president. Hal Shelton also continued working for the new owners until the late 1960s.
Shelton died in 2004.