A Colored Souvenir Map and Story.

SAN FRANCISCO'S CHINATOWN.

Published by San Francisco: California Chinese Pioneer Historical Society, [c.1939]

About this Item

First edition, first printing, of this rare 1939 map displaying California's "veritable Oriental caravan of exotic sights and sounds and colours" (verso). We have traced a single institutional copy (Berkeley) and two others in commerce in the last decade. At the time, San Francisco's Chinatown had over 20,000 residents, making it the largest Chinese expatriate community in the US. This map was executed by the Honolulu-born artist Ethel Chun (1914-1997), who attended the University of Hawaii and California's Chouinard School of Art. For the ground, she employs a rich yellow associated with China's emperors, while opting for an auspicious red for much of the detail. The text on the verso lists 33 "interesting spots" and presents a short history of the area. The publisher was founded in 1937 by William Hoy, a journalist and dedicated local historian. Stephen J. Hornsby, Picturing America: the Golden Age of Pictorial Maps, 2017. 440 x 550 mm colour lithographed map, text and illustrations on verso, folding away to 143 x 220 mm as issued. Map and text bright, a little creasing, no tears. A fine copy. Seller Inventory # 165104

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Colored Souvenir Map and Story.

Publisher: San Francisco: California Chinese Pioneer Historical Society, [c.1939]

Edition: 1st Edition