Bird’s-Eye View of the Panama Canal and Map of Panama

Multi-faceted souvenir of the Panama Canal.

This folding chart is a testament to the technological marvel that is the Panama Canal. One of the most complex engineering projects of all time, the canal could boast of the largest locks, the largest earth dam, largest man-made lake, and most amount of earth excavated during construction by the time it opened in 1914.

This chart uses four separate maps and a bar chart to impress upon the audience the scope of this modern marvel. The central image shows the route of the canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans and labels locks, towns, and water features. Two inset maps at the bottom of the sheet are city plans of Colon and Panama; shown in large font at either end of the canal.

The third inset is a detailed political map of the country with the canal route highlighted in red. A chart across the top of the sheet shows the height profile of the excavation work performed by the French (black) and the U.S. Government (red). France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped because of engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15, 1914.

The entire production was compiled and distributed by Isaac Levy Maduro, Jr., one of Panama’s most prolific postcard publishers in the first half of the 20th century. It was printed by the Curt Teich Company in Chicago and would have been sold at kiosks and small stores along the route of the canal.

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