Osher Map Library

B. Gas Station Experience

By the late 1920’s over half of American families owned or had access to an automobile. With nearly 10 million cars on the road, thousands of gas stations began to dot the landscape. Attempting to make the gas station as more than merely as place to refuel, oil companies began featuring it as an attraction itself. Seeking to promote brand loyalty, companies issued maps that presented the station as a place of fun, safety, and service, with the theme of safety being most important. Safety had special significance for a particular type of consumer. Starting in the 1930’s, images of solo women motorists began gracing the covers of road maps. Earlier, women generally were shown as passengers, content to leave the driving and navigation to their male counterparts. Women were also shown thankfully relying upon the solace and protection provided by gas stations and their charismatic, trustworthy, male attendants. Slogans such as “Ask the Man at the Pump!” “Get a Thrilling Filling NOW!” and “Our Restrooms are Clean Across Canada” reminded the female driver that she could always turn to her favorite oil company for support if she became lost, exhausted, or was simply seeking a companionable respite in the midst of her touring.

Ohio Sinclair Road Map

img/flat/tre75.jpg

Ohio Sinclair
Ohio Sinclair Road Map
Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, ca. 1934
Doug Yorke Collection

Western United States Highways: “Let’s get ASSOCIATED”

img/flat/tre76.jpg

Tide Water Associated Oil Company
Western United States Highways: “Let’s get ASSOCIATED”
Tide Water Associated Oil Company, 1939
Doug Yorke Collection