DESCRIPTION: A colorful and exuberant original pictorial map of Austin, Texas, created by Joan and James Wiebe and published by Inter Continental Cartographers in 1972. Entitled "Austin Texas - The Fun-Tier Capital of Texas," the large-format map presents the city through an imaginative bird's-eye view filled with humorous illustrations, local landmarks, businesses, recreational activities, and scenes of everyday Austin life.
In retrospect, this scarce map's eccentric humor and crowded cast of characters seem to anticipate the spirit later expressed by the familiar slogan "Keep Austin Weird." Although that phrase was not coined until decades later, the map portrays an Austin already celebrating individuality, humor, local culture, and a certain disregard for convention. Its playful "Fun-Tier Capital" title and offbeat imagery offer an early visual expression of the distinctive personality that would eventually become closely associated with the city.
The map combines recognizable geography with hundreds of cartoon-like vignettes, transforming Austin into a lively visual portrait of the city during the early 1970s. Roads, neighborhoods, waterways, and prominent locations provide the geographic framework, while whimsical figures and buildings emphasize the city's entertainment, university, commercial, and outdoor culture. A broad simulated wood-grain border reinforces the map's distinctly period appearance.
Measuring approximately 40 x 30 inches, the map is an uncommon example of the large pictorial promotional maps produced for American cities during the postwar period. Its playful "Fun-Tier" title and dense imagery capture Austin at an important moment in its development, just as the city was beginning to acquire the cultural identity and rapid growth that would characterize the following decades.
Joan and James Wiebe were artists and cartographers who worked with Vancouver-based Inter Continental Cartographers during the early 1970s. In 1972 they produced a series of three large pictorial advertising maps depicting Austin, San Antonio, and Nashville. Their work combined bird's-eye cartography with humorous figures, local landmarks, businesses, and scenes of everyday life, creating lively visual portraits of each city. The maps are characteristic examples of the highly decorative promotional city maps popular during the period.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1972
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United States
BODY OF WATER:
CONDITION: Excellent.
No issues. Rolled.
COLORING: Process color
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 30
" x
40 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION:
PRICE: $850
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