The World Divided
- Title:
- The World Divided
- Alternate Title:
- The World Divided
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Harrison, Richard Edes
- Date:
- 1941
- Posted Date:
- 2015-08-25
- ID Number:
- 1297.01
- File Name:
- PJM_1297_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Materials/Techniques:
- color printing
- Subject:
- Deception/Distortion
Unusual Projection
World War II - Measurement:
- 36 x 46 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- A striking map by Richard Edes Harrison, published in Fortune Magazine for August 1941. Harrison used a then-unusual polar projection of "a world struggle that will mark a turning point in civilization," one that "divides the world into two huge camps." The United States had not entered the war, but Harrison designed the map to illustrate his point that "the entire conflict pivots around the U.S." because of its geographical position, its ideology of freedom, and its lend-lease support of the soon-to-be Allies. See generally Curtis 2016, 128-131.
Harrison was trained in architecture and design rather than as a cartographer, and that background "enabled him to break from convention." Schulten 1998, 175. "His techniques defied convention and created a new standard for the look and shape of the world on a map. Harrison designed the maps to be both visually appealing and politically charged, reflecting the urgency of the war while also maintaining an elegant artistic dimension." Ibid. 174. In the upper left corner of the map, Harrison uses the analogy of centrifugal force lifting the skirt of a spinning dancer to explain the projection he used here.
The visual power of this map in conveying the threat depends to a great degree on the size and menace of the black area of the Axis powers opposing the U.S. across the Pole. But Harrison needed more than a bit of artistic license to convey the point. The map was published in August 1941, and the legend on the lower left explains that "the situation is as of July 7, 1941." It's likely that Harrison prepared this map in June 1941, at a time when the Soviet Union was aligned with Germany under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. But on June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Harrison solved this artistic (and substantive!) problem by coloring the USSR a very dark brown - almost indistinguishable from the Nazi black - and adding a legend on the map: "Count this black if Nazis win a quick and complete victory." in the text, he wrote, " If Hitler can crush the Russian Army and set up a puppet government, this will constitute a direct territorial threat to the U.S." Happily, that was not to be the case.
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:
- Fortune Magazine. August 1941. 48-49.
- Repository:
- Private Collection of PJ Mode
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.