Description
The globe is undated. However, the airplane illustrated is a four-engine propeller plane, and American Airlines is known to have introduced four-engine Douglas DC-4 airplanes to its fleet after the end of World War II, followed soon after by the similar-looking DC-6. Also in 1945, American Airlines introduced international service to Europe after acquiring American Export Airlines and renaming it American Overseas Airways. The presence of Stalingrad in Russia, later renamed Volgograd, dates the globe to prior to 1961. The designer of the globe, Paul Peter Willis was an advertising executive for American Airlines. He was also the author of book published in 1940 by Prentice-Hall that promoted American Airlines for commercial air travel: Your Future Is In the Air: The Story of How American Airlines Made People Air-Travel Conscious.
For more information about Rand McNally, see our Guide to Globe Makers.
Cartouche: Rand McNally/ AIR GLOBE/ Designed by P.P. Willis/ Diameter 12 Inches/ [scale with Hours and Miles]/ Copyright by RAND McNally & COMPANY, Chicago/ for AMERICAN AIRLINES Inc./ Route of the Flagships/ Made in U.S.A.
Amethyst glass base with white lettering: AMERICAN AIR LINES, Inc./ ROUTE OF THE FLAGSHIPS
Condition: Generally very good, with the usual light scattered, soiling, wear and abrasions, all professionally restored.
References:
“History of American Airlines.” Wikipedia. 24 November 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_Airlines (24 January 2023).