Synoptical Map of Countries producing the most expensive Furs (for Furriers)
- Title:
- Synoptical Map of Countries producing the most expensive Furs (for Furriers)
- Alternate Title:
- Countries Producing the Most Expensive Furs
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Wachtel, S.
- Date:
- 1909
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2360.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2360_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1900 - 1919
- Subject:
- Advertising & Promotion
Pictorial - Measurement:
- 46 x 86 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This large map was “desiqed” [sic] by “S. Wachtel Hamburg,” a fur merchant, as a promotional poster for retail furriers. In this case, that is apparently just how it was used, mounted on a board in the shop of Richard Healy of Worcester, Mass., “Importers & Designers of Fine Furs. Fur Remodeling & Repairing.”
The map is entitled "Synoptical Map of Countries producing the most expensive Furs (for Furriers)." (The title was heavily damaged when the map was removed from the backing board for restoration, but is preserved in the collection.) It is a world map on the Mercator projection, each continent virtually covered with large images of fur-bearing animals, more than 40 in all. The map is entirely in English, including the names of the animals shown in red (e.g., "Black Bear,” "Japanese Marten"). While the poster itself was printed, the advertisement at the bottom center for Richard Healy furs was hand painted.
It is very difficult to date this map with precision. S. Wachtel was a wholesale fur maker ("pelzkonfektion grosshandler") in Hamburg who apparently began his business in about 1884 and continued into, and perhaps after, World War I. Local newspaper help-wanted advertisements and articles suggest that he was particularly active from about 1905-1910. Richard Healy began selling ladies’ “suits and cloaks” at 512 Main Street in Worcester in 1882. His advertisements featured sales of fur by 1896 and continued to do so until 1922 and perhaps later. The American publication “Fur Trade Review” for July 1909, p. 72, reported that Wachtel had visited New York from June 6-22, and that year is shown as the estimated publication date for the map.
I have been unable to locate any record of any other copy of this map. A strikingly similar wall map appeared in the map trade in January 2019, “Tableau Demonstratif de L'Origine des Principales Fourrures,” produced by H. G. Hanot and published in 1917 by C. & E. Chapal, French furriers. For an image of the map and an excellent description by Kevin Brown of Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, see https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/FourruresWorld-hanot-1917?mc_cid=6dcf9e9a69&mc_eid=accf9b3a4f, accessed January 23, 2019. See also Hester 2019. The Wachtel-Healy map is much smaller than the Hanot-Chapal wall map, and the pictorial elements are entirely different. Nevertheless, one may have been derived from the other, or both may descend from some common ancestor not yet identified.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.