U.S. AIR ROUTES UNITED STATES MIDDLE 1960s RAND MCNELLY & CO LARGE UNUSUAL MAP

Description: Striking and highly detailed interesting original colored lithographic map of U.S. air routes entitled "Trunk Airline Routes," dating back to the mid-1960s (circa 1965-1966), originally engraved and printed by the renowned cartography company Rand McNally & Company and distributed in collaboration with the Official Airline Guide (often sponsored by brands of the time such as Texaco or Avis).
 
Historical and Cartographic Features:
 
The red lines: These represent the so-called Trunk Lines, the main long-haul interstate air routes that connected the country's major hubs, historically operated by the major airlines of the time (such as United, TWA, Pan Am, Eastern, and Delta).
 
The Network Nodes: The dense network of red lines highlights the major cities that served as major hubs of U.S. air traffic: Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Los Angeles.
 
Regulatory context: The map dates back to the era before the deregulation of American air travel (which occurred in 1978). During this period, routes were strictly assigned and controlled by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), resulting in a stable and geometric air network clearly represented on this type of institutional cartography. If you'd like to delve deeper, I can help you identify the airlines of the era, secondary regional routes, or provide details on the history of commercial aviation in the United States.
 
Date: Middle 1960s ( undated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 73,4 x 48,1

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Map old original colored. Conditions are as you can see in the images. 

Mapmakers: Rand McNally & Co. is a large American map and navigation company best known for its annual atlases. The company got its start in 1856, when William Rand opened a print shop in Chicago. He was joined in 1858 by a new employee, Andrew McNally. Together, the men established their namesake company in 1868. Originally, the company was intended to print the tickets and timetables for the trains running to and through Chicago; their first railway guide was published in 1869.
 
By 1870, they had shifted from just printing to publishing directories, travel guides, and newspapers. Their first map appeared in 1872 in a railway guide. The map was produced using a new wax engraving method, a cheaper process that gave the company an edge.
 
By 1880 Rand McNally had entered the education market with globes, wall maps, and geography texts for students. In 1923, Rand McNally published the first Goode’s World Atlas, named after its editor, Dr. J. Paul Goode. For generations afterward, this would be the standard classroom atlas.
 
In 1899, William Rand left the company, but McNally and his family remained, controlling the company for over a century. In 1904, they published their first road map intended for automobiles and by 1907 were publishing Photo-Auto Guides, which combined photography and mapping to help drivers. In 1924, they produced the Auto Chum, a precursor to their famous road atlases. Rand McNally would remain the leader in road maps and atlases throughout the twentieth century.
 
In 1937, Rand McNally opened its first store in New York City. Ever on the frontier of technology, Rand McNally pioneered the scribing process for printing tickets in 1958 and printed their first full-color road atlas in 1960. Arthur Robinson developed his now-famous projection of Rand McNally in 1969. By the 1980s, the company was exploring digital reproduction and digital databases of maps for truckers. In the 1990s, they lead the charge to develop trip-planning software and websites. Today, most of its products are available online or in a digital format, including maps for tablets and phones.