The 1920's began the modern automobile age. During this decade the major highways were paved and by 1928 modern route numbers were in use; the car had become commonplace. The vendors who did road maps as a sideline had not yet been driven out of business by the free state and oil maps, so many different types of road maps were available during this decade.

	1920 AAA, PENNSYLVANIA MAIN-TRAVELED ROUTES AND AVIATION LANDING FIELDS, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Motor Federation, American Automobile Association, Washington. This map is uncolored but with mountains indicated in green shading as the Map Image shows. Main roads, such as the Lincoln Highway, are shown in heavier black. Road names are given but there are no route or trail markings. The verso contains maps of several cities and towns. This AAA map first appeared c1913 with subsequent editions such as this one.
	1921 NUFOLD - UNITED STATES SURVEY COMPANY, Rochester, N. Y. This is a 32 page booklet with road directions and a foldout 40 x 24 inch map attached to the back cover. It is undated but can be dated to late 1921 or early 1922 by the text. The main roads are shown in red as the Map Image shows, and this is a very attractive map.
	1922 RAND MCNALLY OFFICIAL AUTO TRAILS MAP - PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY, NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, DELAWARE - DISTRICT NO. 7. Here is the famous 'Indian painting a rock' cover that appeared on Rand McNally atlases through the 20's. This is a 64 page booklet with a large 35 x 26.5 inch foldout map printed in red and black which shows Pennsylvania west to Pittsburgh. Roads are identified by trail markings. The booklet contains maps of major cities.
	1923 NASH - CLASON MAP CO. The map is titled 'Best Roads of Pennsylvania' as the Map Image shows. It has no imprimatur but is a Clason map as it resembles others of the time. Highways are identified by names (Lincoln Highway) and pole markings. The map is undated but is circa 1923-25 based upon the highways shown. George S. Clason founded the company in Denver and published the first road atlas of the United States and Canada, see the image at the top of the page. In 1926 he issued the first of a famous series of pamphlets on thrift and success using parables set in ancient Babylon. These were widely distributed, the most famous being "The Richest Man in Babylon". These "Babylonian parables" were inspirational classics of the time. The Nash car company went out of business around 1960.
	1924 AAA, OFFICIAL ROAD MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA, Pennsylvania Motor Federation, Harrisburg; published by American Automobile Association, Washington, copyright 1924. Main roads are shown with color bands corresponding to 'Pole Markings', which is their name for Rand McNally's Auto Trails. Mountains are indicated with brown shading, and roads paved with concrete are identified. By 1924 even AAA saw the advantages of attractive cover design and the utility of Rand McNally's Auto Trails system.
	1925 PITTSBURGH PRESS - C. S. HAMMOND, published by The Pittsburgh Press, copyright C. S. Hammond & Co., New York. This 16 page map booklet has no issue date but can be accurately dated by its reference to 16 years published since 1910. It is included here because of its nice cover, and also because it shows that newspapers and major atlas publishers of the time, in this case the Pittsburgh Press and Hammond, were providing road maps to their public. Pennsylvania routes are marked with old state route numbers, i.e. today's US 22 is Route 3, US 219 is Route 6, etc. Hammond provided this booklet to various vendors, like the Press, who printed their own name on it before distribution.
	1926 BLUM’S COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS’ AND TOURISTS’ AUTO MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA, published by Blum's Commercial Map Pub. Co., Inc. New York. This is a 7.5 x 5 inch undated booklet with 26 pages containing a hotel directory and gazetteer of small towns. Attached to the back cover is a 30 x 24 inch black & white map showing only main routes and using 'old state' route numbers. Thus, the map dates 1925-27.
	1927 CRAM’S OFFICIAL PAVED ROAD MAP OF EAST CENTRAL STATES. This folding map attached to the back cover includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. The map measures 21 x 17 and only the Pennsylvania part is shown in this Map Image. Cram was a major atlas publisher at the turn of the century and did not do much road map business.
	1928 HAMMOND’S AUTO ROUTE DISTANCE MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA. C. S. Hammond & Co. of New York became a major producer of maps at the turn of the century and dabbled a little in road maps. This one has a '28' in the corner which is taken as the date. This very large 38 x 24 inch map is printed on blue paper.
	1929 SEARS - H. M. GOUSHA. The map includes New Jersey. At some point in the 20's Sears got into the map game like the oil companies. Note the prominent display of the Allstate Balloon tire on the cover. Is there anything Sears has not been involved in at one time or another? This is a beautiful cover design with an unusual combination of colors.

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Copyright 2000-2008 by Harold Cramer. All rights reserved.
Last revised: December 16, 2007.