A promotional map for the Southern Pacific Railroad, featuring illustrations of sights along its "Sunset Route," with supporting text. Note that the pictorial overlay obscures all of the United States north of Chicago - and therefore the route of Southern's competitor, the Northern Pacific Railway, completed in 1883.
"Competing railroad companies have long embraced the power of a map to 'emphasize' their lines over others that may be available . . . by artistically leaving out competitors' routes or stations." Ovenden 2011, 40. For other examples of promotional rail maps configured so as to obscure a competitor's route, see ID #1219, The Triangle Tour of British Columbia (1927) and ID #1218, The Canadian Rockies (1929).
For other promotional railroad maps, including some using deceptive techniques, see Subject > Railroads.
