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Club Information Map Information Buy/Sell/Trade Maps Miscellaneous
| RMCA - Summer 2000 Newsletter PreviewA Case for the Adoption of a Map Valuation Description and Condition
Standard Map collecting, just as any other hobby, is done for many different reasons. For most of us, however, the condition of the map is important for a number of reasons. It is a starting place for setting the value that is the basis of an economic transaction between a motivated seller and a willing buyer, a basis for getting insurance, settling an estate, making a donation or determining capital gains (losses). At present, out hobby has no recognized standard. For the majority of us, I believe four things are generally recognized by consensus as the determinants of the value of a map: 1) Its age, 2) Notations on a map that contribute to an understanding of how it was used or the context in which it was used, 3) It scarcity (which may or may not be a function of age), and 4) Its condition. Other factors such as cartographic qualities, artistic values of map covers, historic content, etc., may add value or desirability based on our personal collecting preferences. ... CalPet Road Maps Shard-eyed readers who enjoyed the 26 colorful images of early road map covers done by West Coast independent oil companies, and then compared those images with the "logo identities and capsule histories" on the back of the same sheet, may have noticed that the largest map in the layout, "Auto Routes - Central and Southern California," issued with the compliments of the Ventura Refining Company, is noted on the back of the sheet to be a California Petroleum map. Undoubtedly, California Petroleum Corporation, known as CalPet, and the Ventura Refining Company were closely related in one way or another, as both used the motto, "More Power to You!" But nowhere on the map pictured does the usual CalPet logo appear. Even the rendering of it on the back of the color sheet is apparently a re-creation and not a facsimile of the original. But lest those sharp-eyed readers assume from this that there were no maps with CalPet's name and logo on them, shown here area couple of them that are so marked. The first is titled "Easy Fold Maps of California Highways," and as you can see, the California Petroleum Corporation is shown as the publisher. Above that, the CalPet logo appears on the left, and the Venture Motor Oil symbol, on a capital "V," is at the right, with the motto, "More Power to You!" between them. Artwork pictures a romanticized view of the California landscape, with 1920's autos speeding past a palm tree with snow-covered mountains in the background, but it's all done in red and black. ... Maps and Movies Many oil companies issued maps of special events, from World Fairs to World Wars. I enjoy collecting these, and have several maps from World War II, but never found any maps from later military actions. In fact, I have a 1968 Esso Vietnam map that doesn't mention there's a war going on. Then I won an eBay auction ($12.50) of a Pure Oil "Maps of Areas of Conflicts," 1950 edition. It has pictures of aircraft and a tank on the front. Inside are Rand McNally world maps of Cold War conflict areas of occupation zones in Germany, plus Korea and other "potential areas of global conflict" in Asia. The "Be Sure with Pure" ad on the back was for their radio broadcasts of H.V. Kaltenborn and Richard Harkness. ... Clason Maps in Brief In Dave Cole's original article, he asked whether anyone knew of additional brands using Clason Maps. Rather than edit his fine article, I'm adding some information here. ... Map Sheet Northeastern Independents
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