Sunoco 1939 World’s Fair Road Map
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.
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