Long Island Pictorial Map
American: c. 1930s to 1940s
Needlepoint
21 x 28 inches, needlepoint image
22.5 x 29.75 inches, framed
$1,200
Long Island Needlepoint Pictorial Map
American: c. 1930s to 1940s
American: c. 1930s to 1940s
Unusual, probably unique, needlepoint pictorial map of Long Island and Long Island Sound, including Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam counties. Cartography is simple, with many major place names noted. New York City is included, represented by skyscrapers and the Brooklyn Bridge. Numerous illustrations, often naïve and whimsical, include Montauk lighthouse, a jockey on a racehorse, an airplane, a train, and a prominent building in Edgewood. Other illustrations include ships, fish and buoys in the water, and several depictions of people enjoying recreational pursuits: swimming, boating, sunbathing, fishing and duck hunting. A compass rose decorates the upper left corner, and the title of the map is written on a rock formation in the lower right corner. The colors are earth tones and black; the design is surrounded by a simple border of brown and tan stripes. The map is still in its original grain-painted frame.
This is likely a unique design rather than a kit; no other similar examples are known, though numerous Long Island map embroideries (as distinguished from needlepoint) from a kit, with a similar theme, are known. This map has a charming home-spun quality, and unusual details such as the Yale Bowl football stadium in New Haven. The bottom of the needlepoint canvas is stenciled with the name of the supplier, Lucie Newman, 683 Madison Avenue, New York.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and fading. Original grain painted frame with the usual shrinkage and minor abrasions to finish.