About this sheet
Vintage Literary Map of Los Angeles by Linda Ayriss, 1987
Original 1987 pictorial map, “The Literary Map of Los Angeles,” illustrated by Linda Ayriss with graphic design by Susan Lewis and published in Los Angeles by Aaron Blake Publishers.
This wonderfully imaginative map celebrates the extraordinary literary history of Los Angeles. The city is represented as a large blue swimming pool, with its principal streets and highways forming the map and more than 120 numbered locations identifying the homes, offices and favorite haunts associated with 65 writers.
Surrounding the pool is an elaborate Hollywood-style evening party populated by celebrated writers and literary figures associated with Los Angeles. Among the authors represented or referenced are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury, Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, Dorothy Parker, Anaïs Nin, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, L. Frank Baum, Henry Miller and many others.
The extensive key running along the lower portion of the sheet identifies the writers and their associated Los Angeles addresses and locations. The combination of cartography, portraiture and Hollywood imagery makes this much more than a conventional city map: it is a highly decorative visual history of literary Los Angeles.
The map was originally issued as a folding pocket map with an illustrated cover. The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection records the work as published in Los Angeles in 1987 by Aaron Blake Publishers and credits Linda Ayriss as illustrator and Susan Lewis as graphic artist. The Library of Congress also holds an example in its Geography and Map Division.
CREATOR
Linda Ayriss, illustrator; Susan Lewis, graphic artist
PUBLISHER
Aaron Blake Publishers, Los Angeles
DATE
1987
MEDIUM
Printed color pictorial map on paper.
DIMENSIONS
Approximately 20.3 × 26.5 inches (51.6 × 67.3 cm).
CONDITION
Very good vintage condition. Originally issued folding, with the expected fold lines and some light handling and age-related wear. Colors remain attractive and vibrant. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition.
STYLE
Postmodern / 1980s American Graphic Design / Pictorial Cartography
SUBJECT
Los Angeles; California; Hollywood; American literature; writers and authors; literary history; pictorial maps.
NOTES
An original vintage 1987 publication, not a modern reproduction. The Library of Congress includes “The Literary Map of Los Angeles” in its collection of American literary maps.
Sold unframed.
