Scope and Content Note
This collection contains 14,476 maps in 151 boxes, and an additional 7 boxes of an index card catalog created by Peterson. Most maps are folded to approximately 21 cm x 11 cm. The bulk of the collection consists of road maps of U.S. regions, states, and cities. There are also a smaller number of maps of areas in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The collection contents are published predominantly by gasoline service stations and petroleum companies, (U.S.) state highway commissions and transportation departments, and the American Automobile Association (AAA).
All 50 U.S. states are represented in this collection, with a particular strength in maps published between the years 1948 and 1973. The petroluem industry that flourished in the mid-20th century alongside the internal combustion engine automobile became a primary distributor of free road maps, dispensing them at their respective gas stations as a means to encourage automobile travel and extend brand recognition. Companies such as Standard Oil, Gulf, American Oil, Chevron, Conoco, Exxon, Marathon, Michelin, Phillips 66, Shell, and other familiar petroleum producers commissioned cartographic firms to develop local and national road maps, which the petroleum companies would then brand with their own logo, and distribute for free at gas stations. The primary cartographic firms contracted to make these maps were the H.M. Gousha Company, General Drafting Company, and Rand McNally, all of which are well-represented in this collection. The peak years of free service station map distribution are generally agreed to begin after World War II (during which global petroleum production was shifted toward the war effort) and end with the U.S. fuel crisis in 1973.
Individual U.S. states also developed maps of local roadways and points of historical and recreational interest as means of attracting and facilitating tourism to their states (along with the practical benefits of having accurate maps of one's state). These maps developed by state highway commissions and state transportation departments are also well-represented in this collection, particularly for the years after 1973 when petroleum companies began curtailing their map distribution.
Lastly, automobile clubs such as the American Automobile Association (AAA) contributed a significant effort to publishing and distributing road maps of the United States, and can be found in great number in this collection for all the U.S. states. AAA's more than 100 year history creates an unbroken account of the development of the U.S. road system that can be explored in this collection.
Together, the road maps assembled by Peterson can offer a fascinating picture of the history of America's relationship with the automobile. The history of urban development, land use, the creation of the national interstate highway system, the rise of leisure and travel in the U.S.'s new (as of the mid-20th century) middle class, historic advertisement, and beautiful lithographic printing techniques can all be seen in this extensive collection of American history.