This beautiful and scarce pictorial map offers a lavish presentation of the greater Oakland-Berkley-Alameda area. It is a collaboration between Michael Baltekal-Goodman, an artist, engraver, and architect, and Eugene Neumaus, a painter and University of California, Berkeley professor. With its vivid color scheme and stunning Art Deco stylings, it's easy to see why Stephen J. Hornsby describes the map as "one of the most dramatic and boldly colored pictorial maps of the 1930s." The map names all major streets and features scores of illustrations of important buildings and sights in the area. It is further embellished with flora and fauna, wind heads, a large sun, and fancy cartouches. The sea contains quaint depictions of sail boats, ferries, freighters, ancient sailing ships, and sea monsters. Surrounding the map is a masterfully designed border featuring a dozen vignettes of local historical events, some quite quirky. Among these vignettes are "Temperance Soc'ty Waging a Battle Against the Bottle 1874," "Public Rejoicing at Completion of Overland R.R." in Oakland, 1864, and "A Supernatural Mirage Seen Around Bayshore of Alameda Co. 1872." At the top of the map, a scroll quotes from George Berkeley: "Westward the course of empire takes its way; / The first four Acts already past, / A fifth shall close the Drama with the day;/ Time's noblest offspring is the last." Published by the Sather Gate Book Shop of Berkeley and printed by Union Litho. of San Francisco & Oakland.

References: Hornsby (Picturing America) pp. 142-43 & plt. 65; Rumsey #8127.

Condition: B+

A colorful example, issued folding, with a number of short fold separations that have been closed on verso with archival tape. There is minor wear along the folds, a few tiny losses at the fold junctions, and a couple tiny chips in the top margin.