McCormick Spice Map of the World

The 1957 edition of McCormick’s double hemisphere advertising map showing a world of spices.

The origins of some of the first large-scale international commercial operations began with the spice trade, giving the McCormick Company a broad pool of historical material to draw from in this pictorial promotional map. Illustrations of tea, spice, coffee and vanilla harvests in the corners present the idea that relatively little has changed in the hundreds of years Westerners have imported such commodities.

Images of sailing ships, windheads, sea monsters, and colored routes of early explorers reinforce this perception of continuity in the trade, although air travel, refrigeration, and innovation in packaging had completely changed the industry by the middle of the 1950’s. Red text within the borders of each country shows what is grown there, and flags surrounding the outer border suggest the international nature of McCormick’s modern business.

There are at least four different editions of this style of the McCormick Spice Map dated between 1954 and 1971. The views of the company buildings in the lower center will eventually be replaced by additional flags of new nations that gain independence and membership of the United Nations.