"Ashore in San Diego",

It's shore leave in San Diego on this playful pictorial map issued by the Visual Education department of the United States Naval Training Center. Drawn by Edward Pranger, the map was designed to help enlisted men plan their liberty. A number of activities are listed in a cartouche at top right, with free USO services indicated. Throughout the map, sailors are depicted enjoying their time on the town: splashing around in the Pacific, riding rides at the Mission Beach Amusement Center, scaling a giraffe's neck at Balboa Park, wrestling at the Coliseum on 15th and East St. Los Angeles lies on the horizon, and roads are shown to La Mesa, El Cajon, and Texas and Mexico, but the map is careful to note that special permission is required to leave town. "This map is not drawn to scale," reads a note next to a flummoxed sailor with a ruler in hand. Published while World War II still raged on, the map nonetheless has a carefree, lighthearted tone.

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Condition: B+

Issued folding, now flat and backed on linen, with a few small spots and minor separations that have been closed on verso.