We've been looking at maps celebrating civicism (it's like patriotism, but for cities!), but today we'll go all-out, coast-to-coast. Here are some of the prettiest U.S. maps, celebrating breweries, bikes, and more.
1. The National Parks Checklist map by Ello There is elaborate and awesome. It is printed on a large canvas, and includes stickers to mark off the parks you've visited, as well as a Moonrise Kingdom-esque explorers patch. I know THE PERFECT PERSON to give this to but was bemoaning the $95 price tag, when I realized you can place a special order for an 11x17 print on paper for only $24. Perfect!
2. Let Them Eat (Cup)Cake featured this inspiring and immense map of the Breweries of The United States by Pop Chart Lab.
3. Bittersugar's Bike Cities USA map just might encourage all cities to earn the little green dot symbolizing "very good bicycle planning and infrastructure".
4. Rar Rar Press makes these darling custom It's Not That Far Really postcards. Just tell them where you'd like the hearts to be, and try not to think about how huge this country is.
5. I cannot get over how detailed this America The Beautiful print by Tugboat Printshop is. It really gives you a feeling for all the stuff happening in our country. These prints are quite pricy, but once you take a look at the close-up shots of the carved woodblocks, you'll see why.
6. Is it wrong that I like Jennifer Maravillas' The United States print because it reminds me of a lush, glossy magazine?
7. The last map here is a bit quirky- I don't entirely understand it, and I love it. Purgatory Pie Press INK has created a limited edition handbound book, featuring "Linoleum cuts of the 54 United States as identified by Londoners". Basically, their friend was in town from London, wanted to join in the project, and attempted to identify all the states. "He promptly mislabeled all the states, most as English counties. " Love it.
(Images: as credited above.)
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
What Drink Do You Order at a Bad Bar? 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Tugboat's "America the Beautiful" is about the most gorgeous thing ever! It would be wonderful to help connect maps to real-life for my daughter. I wish we could hang it in her room; unhappily, there is absolutely no way we can afford it!
Thank you for the link to Tugboat Printshop. I collect prints -- particularly woodcuts and linocuts. I just made a purchase.
I wish the Tugboat one had forgone the overdone bunting. Americans who haven't lived abroad don't get it that most countries don't have the brainwashing we're subjected to that convinces people ours is not only the best country, but basically the only good one. Live somewhere else, and you'll see what a joke that is, in so many ways. Other nations scoff, and rightly so. This is the only country I've ever seen where people feel the need to fly the nation's flag at home or business... I always jokingly think, "Oh, good, thank you, I wasn't sure which country I was in." The brainwashing tells us this attitude is "patriotic." It isn't. It's ignorant, arrogant, and downright dangerous to any hopes of peace in the world. It's BRAINWASHING.
Ditto on annie_o's take on perverse "patriotism."
Also, was a bit chagrinned about the "celebration" of breweries. Since alcohol's one of the biggest killers in this country, it's really not that different from a map celebrating where all the cigarette factories are. We need to become more discriminating. Folks who want to brew their own, that's fine. I'm talking about murderous corporate greed.
@rose123...good for you.
Regarding the American flag discussion: For what it's worth, I'm a US citizen who lived abroad for three years and has traveled extensively, and I know many countries where citizens and businesses fly their country's flag. I don't think there's anything wrong with showing your pride in your country by doing so. I completely agree that there does seem to be an attitude among some Americans that ours is the best country, and that makes me sad and embarrassed because there are so many countries out there taking care of their citizens and the world a lot better than we are! But there are still many things about the US that make me proud, and I do fly the American flag at home.
@Annie-O...when I first moved to the US from England, I was really delighted to see people taking pride in their nation & its' flag-if I had tried that (flying a union flag on my house) in London I'd have had the local council's anti-racist alliance and possibly the police round to demand it's removal, because sadly in the UK our national flag has been misappropriated by the far-right.
Also I have to tel you that across mainland Europe, it really isn't unusual to see national flags displayed outside businesses & homes.
Personally I love maps and when we re-do our playroom I've got some brilliant maps for the walls-the USA, Florida, the UK, Israel, London-all relevant to our family's history and really beautiful.
Leave it to a U.S. website for a design post about decorating with maps to become politically charged and a jumping off point for discussing alcoholism and corporate greed.
Breweries and vineyards are wonderful businesses that contribute to the culture of our country. Too bad that some people abuse them, but c'est la vie. The map's still nice.
I've also traveled extensively, and have observed national flags displayed in front of homes and business in many countries--according to my experience, that's not a uniquely American phenomenon.
I don't consider myself brainwashed--I might take a propensity for hyperbolic speech, presented as fact, as evidence of such, but, thus far, I've escaped those symptoms (if I begin doing so, friends, please be prepared with an intervention)--but I am proud of my imperfect country, and have absolutely no problem with displaying our flag in the front of our multi-cultural home, or with the "overdone" bunting on Tugboat's map.
Lastly, because it bears restating, Tugboat's woodcut prints are absolutely awesome. I'm highly jealous of RURAL AND RUEFUL. Way to rub it in, buddy….
Thank you, @kbon. Geez. @annie-o and @kaul, you guys must be a blast at Fourth of July parties. *eye roll*
Seriously, lighten up, kids. Are we perfect? No. (Is anyone perfect? No.) People are allowed to, as @kbon put it, be proud of our imperfect country anyway -- and no, I'm not "brainwashed" either.
@kaul, oh, please. Breweries are "murderous" now? So much for personal responsibility, huh?
On topic: I love love love the first one.
I meant to include in my comment above that this is a very nice roundup of maps. Thank you! The National Parks map is my favorite.
Sad that Hawaii was left out out of "it's really not that far really"-- they just started a non-stop flight between Honolulu and my hometown on the East Coast and this would make the perfect gift! Pleased to see that Hawaii (and Alaska) made the cut on the other maps. Not always the case.
@Kaul:
Beer craft is a tradition in many countries, particularly those with climates that are inhospitable to growing grapes for wine. Using you logic would prohibit celebrating the creators of dairy products, coffee, livestock, chocolate, wine, spirits, pasta, bread and many other culinary delights. Just as we don't blame the farmer for obesity or the coffee roaster for high blood pressure, let's not blame the brewer for creating a delicious product that the vast majority of people enjoy responsibly.
Per the National Parks map shown: I would never buy a map that botched West Virginia's shape so badly!
@Jeure1 is right. I hate how cartoonishly drawn the states are. Oregon is a mess! There are better ways to be 'arty' with a map besides butchering geography.
#1 map .... what in the world. growing up in wv, i always look at it first. pretty sure we don't the great lakes! lol