A Map of The Open Country of Woman's Heart, Exhibiting Its Internal Communications and the Facilities and Dangers to Travellers Therein
- Title:
- A Map of The Open Country of Woman's Heart, Exhibiting Its Internal Communications and the Facilities and Dangers to Travellers Therein
- Alternate Title:
- A Map of The Open Country of Woman's Heart
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- A Lady [pseud.]
- Other Creators:
- Kellogg, E.B. & E.C. and Thayer, Horace, publishers
- Date:
- 1846
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2529.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2529_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1800 - 1869
- Subject:
- Pictorial
Romance/Love/Marriage
Satirical - Measurement:
- 34 x 24 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This satirical map, authored by "A Lady," purports to describe "The Open Country of Woman's Heart . . . and the facilities and dangers to Travellers therein." At its center is the City & District of Love and below, at the bottom of the heart, are regions of Sentiment, Hope, Patience, Enthusiasm, Good Sense, Discrimination and Prudence. These gentle references led Nancy Finlay of the Connecticut Historical Society to praise the "clever and talented woman" who made it, while acknowledging the possibility "that the artist was actually a man, who adopted this pseudonym because the prints appear to reflect a feminine sensibility and seem calculated to appeal to female purchasers." Finlay 2012.
It is also possible that this Woman's Heart might not have appealed to other women; it is dominated by less admirable traits. There are Lands and Provinces of Vanity, Coquetry, Fickleness, Selfishness, Deception, Love of Display, Love of Dress, and Love of Admiration. Through these domains flow rivers of Indulgence, Drain the Purse, Wilful Waste, Flattery, and Pensive Musings (perhaps brought on by the nearby River of Novel Reading). There is a Lake of Self Conceit, a Labyrinth of Falseness, Pyramids of Fashion, a Town of Cashmere, and the City of Moi-Meme.
As another female commentator concluded, "from the cynical tone of many of this map's landmarks, it's much more likely the work of A Man. . . . Clearly we're supposed to believe that the owner of this particular heart was shallow, greedy, and untrustworthy. Perhaps the most unsavory regions of the map" are capped by "the Promontory of Golden Fetters" near "the Sea of Wealth, with Old Man's Darling Bay flowing into the suggestively shaped Jewelry Inlet. Oof!" Scott 2011.
There is an earlier, undated version of this map, thought to have been published 1833-1842. Only a few minor changes have been made in the map itself and the substance of the title and text labels, while the location and fonts of the text - in the title and throughout the map - are noticeably different.
This map was published by the Kellogg family of lithographers. They were, with Currier & Ives, among the best known and most prolific printmakers of the time. There is a companion piece, A Map of The Fortified Country of Man's Heart, Exhibiting its defences, and modes of exposure to attack. This work is "bristling with defenses intended to ward off attack" and largely "inhospitable to romance." Finlay 2012.
For later maps along the same lines, see ID #2334, "Map of a Woman's Heart" (1887) and ID #1362 "Geographical Guide to a Man's Heart . . . . Geographical Guide to a Woman's Heart" (1960). See also Subjects > Romance/Love/Marriage.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.