Hitting the road

the long version

Unceremoniously discarded by the millions, languishing deep in the corners of overstuffed glove compartments, wedged behind the seat cushions of old Buicks lie forgotten examples of one of the great commercial artifacts of twentieth-century America: the oil-company road map. For generations of intrepid motorists, free maps available at gas stations across America charted the dreams and thrills of adventure on the open road. Hitting the Road traces our country's love affair with the automobile through the colorful graphics and alluring images that graced these charming remnants of a bygone era. Hitting the Road offers a striking collection of illustrations of over 200 road maps, together with a fascinating discussion of the popular culture they reveal. From the early touring maps of 1912, featuring covers ablaze with a sense of motoring adventure, to the Art Deco-inspired graphics of the thirties and the family-oriented images of the fifties and sixties, the examples in Hitting the Road are themselves maps of the recreational twists and turns of the public they sought to guide.