This Sunoco road map is a commemorative piece for the 1939 World’s Fair, held in Flushing, New York. In addition to being a map of the Northeastern U.S., it includes detailed maps of the Metropolitan NYC area and Long Island. The cover of the map has a great Art Deco style graphic representing the fair.

Sunoco was the abbreviated name for the Sun Oil Company of Ohio that was founded in 1890 by Joseph N. Pew and Edward O. Emerson. In 1901 the name was changed to Sun Company. In 1932 Lowell Thomas became the newscaster for the NBC news, sponsored by Sunoco. Information about when the broadcast could be heard and on which stations is listed on the back of the map. Thomas continued to do the broadcasts until 1943 when it ended with the breakup of NBC. Sunoco continued to sponsor the NBC news, but without Thomas.

This is an interesting map, not only because of its connection with the 1939 World’s Fair, but also because it harkens back to the days of the Golden Age of radio. During this time people got all their news either from newspapers or via radio broadcasts in their home or in their car.

Sohio, or Standard Oil of Ohio was one of the former holdings of the Standard Oil trust, before its breakup in 1911. The name was officially changed from Standard Oil of Ohio to Sohio in 1928. They grew to dominate Ohio’s refined products market from the 1930s through to the 1950s. In 1978, BP purchased a 55% interest in Sohio and in 1987 they acquired the remaining 45% for complete ownership. By 1990 all the Sohio gas stations had been converted to BP stations, and the Sohio name was no longer used.

This map dates to about 1949, based on the striking compass design used at that time. Another indicator is the cars that appear in the illustrations. Depicted on the rear of the map is a VW Beetle in a Sohio filling station. The German-made car was new to the American market in the late 1940s and would have been a great contemporary car to include on the Sohio maps.

This map was issued by the Tidewater Associated Oil Company for their east coast brand of gas stations, Flying A. It dates to about 1957 and is a map of the northern-most New England state of Maine. Advertised on the back of the map is an ad for Tidewater’s motor oil, Veedol, which they sold worldwide.

Tidewater is one of the oldest American oil companies, having been founded in New York City in 1887. Initially, Tidewater sold gasoline under the Tydol name in the eastern United States. They purchased the Northwestern Oil Company in 1931, allowing them to expand into the Midwest. In 1953 J. Paul Getty acquired Tidewater, which then merged with the Associated Oil Company. The Flying A brandname was first used by Associated in 1932 for their premium gasoline. In 1966 Associated’s west coast operations were purchased by Phillips 66. The Getty Oil Company stopped using the Tidewater name and the Flying A brand was being phased out. In 1970 the last Flying A station was rebranded as a Getty. In 1984 Getty was purchased by Texaco.

This Esso road map dates from the mid-1950s to the late 1950s. It covers the eastern United States from Maine to Louisiana and some of Canada. Featured on the front cover are some of the sights and activities that a traveler could expect to see and do along the way. There is a beautiful 1950s vintage automobile cruising down the highway also.  On the back of the map is a very friendly-looking uniformed station attendant. Beside the Esso logo is the slogan, “The Sign of Happy Motoring”.

Esso was one of the seven new companies that emerged after the Standard Oil Company monopoly breakup that took place in 1911. At first the Esso name was used only as a brand name on some of the petroleum products and eventually, as a division name. The name was changed again in 1972 to Exxon. Today the company is known as Exxon Mobil Corporation and is based in Irving, Texas.

This road map was issued and distributed about 1959 by Chevron gas stations. Chevron was a subdivision of Standard Oil of California with stations located in the western part of the United States. On the reverse of the map you can see the Chevron logo that utilizes the red, white and blue chevron design. Standard Oil first adopted this graphic for use in 1931 to symbolize quality and as an eye-catching design. During WWII, the “V” in Chevron was changed to a “winged V”, a symbol meaning “victory” that was intended to show support for the troops.

The artwork on this map is reflective of Arizona scenery and is an illustration of Picacho Peak State Park, one of many tourist destinations. On the back of the map is promotional copy describing the superior products and services at Chevron filling stations.

This New England road map is from the mid-1950s. It was distributed by the Atlantic Refining Company that was founded in 1865. It became a subsidiary of Standard Oil in 1874, until it was made independent again in 1911 when anti-trust laws were passed. Atlantic Refining merged with the Richfield Oil Corporation in 1966, and eventually became the company known as ARCO.

There is a shield on the front of the map, which says “Atlantic Imperial”. Imperial was the name under which Atlantic sold their hi-test gasoline. The illustrations, both front and back on this map, are great retro images showing a 50s style gas station, uniformed station attendant and automobile.

This is a Conoco road map design that was used in the late 1940s by the Continental Oil Company. Featured on the map is mention of the trademark “Touraide” travel service. Members of the Conoco Travel Club were eligible for a route planning service offered by Conoco, including free maps showing the layout of their trip. The illustration shows a ‘typical’ 1940s American family on one of these trips. The back of the road map provided an opportunity for Conoco to advertise one of their products, Conoco Super Motor Oil. This ad, like a lot of the Conoco  advertising of the time, features the friendly “Conoco Man”.

“Conoco” is the abbreviated name for the Continental Oil Co. Originally founded in 1875 in Ogden, Utah as a distributor of various fuels, including oil, coal and kerosene as well as grease and candles, the company was at first called the Continental Oil and Transportation Company. In 1929 the Marland Oil Company purchased a considerable number of company shares and the headquarters were moved to Oklahoma. Marland changed their name to the Continental Oil Co. and brought their red triangle logo with them to the reorganized company. This logo was used by Conoco from 1930 to 1970, until a new design was adopted. Conoco and Phillips 66 merged in 2002 and are now known as ConocoPhillips.

The Cities Service slogan was “For People Going Places!” and this idea is illustrated on this road map. People are seen driving to all kinds of destinations and engaged in a variety of outdoor activities. The artwork on this map is very modern and upbeat, projecting a very positive and lively image for the gas company and their customers.

Standard Oil of California, or SoCal, bought a small New Jersey oil refiner and marketing company shortly after WWII and renamed it the California Oil Company. The gasoline brand became known as Calso in the northeastern US. In 1958 all Calso stations were changed over to Chevron stations.

This Maine road map is from the mid-1950s. As the back of the map states, this map was designed in a booklet format to make looking at it easier. It’s a great remnant of bygone gasoline companies.

This road map dates to the mid-1940s. It was produced for the Richfield Oil Corporation and distributed at Richfield filling stations to their customers. They have beautiful illustrations, both front and back, that include elements of days gone by. There are cars from the 1940s, as well as a uniformed service attendant. Also worthy of note is the art deco style service station building. These were full-service stations where you could not only get gas, but also have your car worked on, buy oil or a tire—unlike today’s stations.

Richfield Oil was founded in 1905. In 1966 Richfield merged with Atlantic Refining Company and formed the Atlantic Richfield Corporation. In the early 1970s the name changed to ARCO (an acronym for Atlantic Richfield).