The American Adventure Series Trails

From the Sante Fe Trail to the First Air Mail Route – historic pathways across the United States.

This interesting historical map of the United States was published in Chicago by the Wheeler Publishing Company in 1959 as part of their American Adventure Series. The image presents a simplified political outline of the country with ten different historic routes highlighted throughout.

Labeled vignettes in the upper and lower borders provide further visual aesthetics regarding America’s rich historic legacy, though the contribution of Spanish missionaries, French voyageurs, and others are sadly overlooked. An incongruous addition is the inclusion of the Sabre Jet Ace (F-86) in the upper left, the nemesis of the Soviet MiG-15 and a clear point of American pride during the Cold War.