Italy “Aspires”

Revealing Italian opportunism in the early stages of World War II.

This eye-catching map of the Mediterranean was published as a standalone supplement to reporting in the June 10, 1940, issue of TIME Magazine. That same day, Italy officially declared war on Britain and France. Mussolini’s declaration was clearly self-serving – German victory in France seemed inevitable and he wanted to join in the spoils. The title block alludes to these motivations, while numerous arrows speculate on Italy’s attack lines. Allied and Italian naval bases are marked with stars and triangles, respectively. The Mediterranean theater would change significantly with France’s capitulation just a few weeks later, on June 24th.

The map was designed by Robert M. Chapin, Jr., who handled head cartography duties for the magazine. Chapin was a professionally trained architect who found jobs to be in low demand during the Great Depression. He took a job in the photo department at Newsweek in 1933, where he picked up a knack for cartographic design. By 1937, he was hired by Time (a rival of Newsweek) as the head of the cartography department, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1970.

During his long tenure at Time, Chapin’s prolific output helped establish a pattern for 20th-century newsroom cartography. The use of bold colors, uncluttered design, and legible typography was immensely popular, and the maps were reprinted for distribution in classrooms and public spaces throughout the country. Despite their widespread appeal, the maps are uncommon on the market and often overlooked in institutional collections. This example is listed in only one instance in WorldCat as of June 2026, at Franklin & Marshall College.