Official Travel Guide Arizona New Mexico

A WWII-era guide of Arizona and New Mexico.

This interesting tourist guide to Nevada and New Mexico encourages the reader to hit the road and enjoy the great outdoors during the late 1930s/early 1940s. Paved, gravel, and dirt roads are shown with solid, dashed, and cased lines, respectively, while distances between points are noted. Red overprinting labels a curious mix of local businesses, including bait shops, auto cabins, garages, hotels, restaurants, and more. Further advertisements can be seen in the negative space, along with a simple overview of Native American symbols.

The map was published by the United States Tourist Service of Los Angeles, California. Undated, but most likely issued in 1939 or 1940, shortly after Raton’s Swastica Hotel changed its name to the Yucca (for pretty obvious reasons). The firm produced several tourist guides to various western states and regions, but their output seems to have dropped off dramatically after America’s entry into World War II.