Pleasure Island: Being a Plan in the Old Manner of the Lake Island in Canada Which Mr. Winston Churchill is Said to Covet.
- Title:
- Pleasure Island: Being a Plan in the Old Manner of the Lake Island in Canada Which Mr. Winston Churchill is Said to Covet.
- Alternate Title:
- Pleasure Island
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Raven-Hill, Leonard
- Date:
- 1929
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 1229.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_1229_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1920 - 1939
- Subject:
- Conduct of Life
Politics & Government
Pictorial
Satirical - Measurement:
- 25 x 18 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- A satirical map attacking Churchill in his "Wilderness Years." In May of 1929, the Conservative government failed to gain reelection, and Churchill lost his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Despite his extensive political experience and oratorical skills, the 54-year-old Churchill was unpopular within his own party, in part because of his support for free trade and Irish Home Rule. In early August, Churchill left England for a three-month tour of Canada and the United States to build up the North American readership for his books and articles, to meet with with important political and financial leaders - and in search of good investments! Lough, 180-86. Bernard Baruch helped plan the trip, and Churchill's hosts along the way included William Randolph Hearst, Paul Mellon, Samuel McClure and Charles Schwab of Bethlehem Steel. Ibid.
During the lengthy Canadian leg of his trip, Churchill and his party spent August 19 at Lake of the Woods, Ontario, a lake over 70 miles long with literally thousands of islands, many occupied by luxurious vacation homes. After an exciting motorboat ride and a leisurely lunch at his host's "palatial" home, Churchill announced that he intended to buy one of the islands and make it into "a most beautiful summer residence." "Winston or one of the party with him told the newspapers of this intention to purchase an island, and it was duly reported in the Canadian papers." Tolppanen 77.
The Canadian press reports of the exiled Churchill seeking a remote Canadian retreat apparently proved too much for Punch to resist, and the map appeared three weeks later. It features a giant figure of Churchill astride an island out of traditional pirate-treasure fiction. The geographic points on the island include a number of references to Churchill's life and career: Blenheim (the ancestral home of the Marlboroughs, where he was born); Hatfield (where he participated in the secret development of the tank in 1916); a typewriter (labeled "do not touch"); an easel and paints; "Treasure Cache;" and at the farthest end of the island, "Premier Point."
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 - Source:
- Punch, or the London Charivari, September 11, 1929.
- Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.