The Entire History of the World (1931)

[Story]

Looks like something that should be hanging on the wall in Professor Jones' office.

This “Histomap,” created by John B. Sparks, was first printed by Rand McNally in 1931. (The David Rumsey Map Collection hosts a fully zoomable version here.) (Update: Click on the image below to arrive at a bigger version.)

This giant, ambitious chart fit neatly with a trend in nonfiction book publishing of the 1920s and 1930s: the “outline,” in which large subjects (the history of the world! every school of philosophy! all of modern physics!) were distilled into a form comprehensible to the most uneducated layman.

The 5-foot-long Histomap was sold for $1 and folded into a green cover, which featured endorsements from historians and reviewers. The chart was advertised as “clear, vivid, and shorn of elaboration,” while at the same time capable of “holding you enthralled” by presenting:

the actual picture of the march of civilization, from the mud huts of the ancients thru the monarchistic glamour of the middle ages to the living panorama of life in present day America.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vaul...ory_of_the_world_distilled_into_a_single.html

 

[Tomasso]

That brings back memories. One of those maps hung in the library of a grammar school I attended. Years later I saw one hanging at the Rand McNally store in Chicago.

 

[Fastuni]

Perfect for office or library. Great find.