Midget (26 results)
Published by Jonathan Midget
- Softcover
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.ThriftBooks-Dallas
Contact seller5-star sellerPaperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.
- Softcover
Seller: Nerman's Books & Collectibles, Pembina, ND, U.S.A.Nerman's Books & Collectibles
Contact seller5-star sellerSoft Cover. Condition: Good. A good miniature comic. Cover detached from contents and almost split in two. Corners rounded. Very clean. Faint store stamp on cover. Copyright 1942. Whis Comics Miracle Man. Fawcett Publications (illustrator).
Popular Science Monthly May 1938 / E W Murtfeldt "Highways of the Future" / Grover C Mueller "Police Cameras" / Arthur A Stuart "Sailing Midget Ships" / Robert E Martin ",Airplane Radio Systems"
Raymond J Brown (Editor) / E W Murtfeldt "Highways of the Future" / Grover C Mueller "Police Cameras" / Arthur A Stuart "Sailing Midget Ships" / Robert E Martin ",Airplane Radio Systems"
Published by The Popular Science Publishing Co 1938
- Softcover
- Periodical
Seller: Shore Books, London, United KingdomShore Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 15.00
£ 11.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 128 pages. Illustrated. Cover by Edgar Franklin Wittmack. Fabulous inventions and period advertisements. E W Murtfeldt "Highways of the Future" / Grover C Mueller "Police Cameras" / Arthur A Stuart "Sailing Midget Ships" / Robert E Martin ",Airplane Radio Systems" (BT#34).
- Softcover
Seller: Speedyhen LLC, Hialeah, FL, U.S.A.Speedyhen LLC
Contact seller2-star sellerCondition: New
£ 42.11
Free ShippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 12 available
Condition: NEW.
More images- Photo
Seller: Bits of Our Past Ltd, Poynton, , United KingdomBits of Our Past Ltd
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 13.50
£ 2.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
No binding. Vintage J. Le Bris, Photo Midget, studio photograph. *** Date : ca 1918 *** Location/Lieu : France *** Categories : France - Women *** Silver print, Good condition, light creases, mount poorly trimmed *** Size in inches/Taille en pouces (1 inch=2,5 cm) : about 2.56x2.56 on 3.80x6.80 mount (Card) - Size in centimeters…/Taille en centimetres : about 6.40x6.40 on 9.50x17.00 mount (Card).
Published by Intereurope, 1971. 1971
- Hardcover
Seller: The Book Firm, Subiaco, WA, AustraliaThe Book Firm
Contact seller3-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 20.91
£ 10.44 shippingShips from Australia to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hardcover. 4to. Good condition. B/W illus. A workshop manual for the skilled mechanic that covers everything: the engine, the fuel system, clutch, suspension, steering, braking system etc. n.p. (About 200 pages). Scarce. British Leyland Manual No. 164.
Published by None
- Softcover
- First Edition
Seller: Singing Saw Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.Singing Saw Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 38.39
£ 3.73 shippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 32 pp. Stapled wraps. Inscludes essay "Little by Little by John Proctor. An informative pamphlet to accompany "Rose's Midget Review," an interesting item of little people's history.
Language: English
Published by The Midget Comic
- Softcover
Seller: Dublin Bookbrowsers, Dublin, NONE, IrelandDublin Bookbrowsers
Contact seller2-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
£ 66.75
£ 8.99 shippingShips from Ireland to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Soft cover. Condition: Good. Includes No 1 & 3 others of similar vintage. Minor wear. Good. Scarce. Circa 1930's (?).
Published by British Leyland, 1973. 1973
- Hardcover
Seller: The Book Firm, Subiaco, WA, AustraliaThe Book Firm
Contact seller3-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 44.80
£ 10.44 shippingShips from Australia to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hardcover. 4to ring-bound file. Good condition. B/W illus. A workshop manual for the skilled mechanic that covers everything: the engine, the fuel system, clutch, transmission, suspension, steering, braking system etc. n.p. (About 200 pages). Scarce.
Published by Burgess & Bowes Ltd. first edition, printed in Belgium. 1964 according to Miniature Book News #3, London 1964
Seller: Abbey Antiquarian Books, Blockley, GLOS, United KingdomAbbey Antiquarian Books
Contact seller4-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 15.00
£ 25.75 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Condition: Very Good-. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 77x53mm (3" x 2.2") cream embossed paper-covered boards, gilt cover title "POEMS CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECT by Robert Burns", in slightly chipped dust jacket with Nasmyth portrait & proposals for his Scotch poems 1786 in yellow on cream paper over-printed Robert Burns (sli…ght wear to edges of dust jacket). Ownership inscription Kenneth Lamin, Nottingham & with love from D.M. Wakeling. All Edges Gilt edges sl.rounded as issued 256pp includes Titlepage & glossary. *A neat copy with the rare dust jacket. According to the Miniature Book News #3, March 1966, the 12 volume "Midget Classics" series was published in 1964 (reference from Commandant's Cottage Antiques and Books who list another book in the series). 1 volume. Hardcover.
Published by Manchester : Midget Books 1975
- Softcover
Seller: Klondyke, Almere, NetherlandsKlondyke
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
£ 39.16
£ 17.28 shippingShips from Netherlands to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Condition: Good. Original stapled wrappers, softcover, some illustrations in b/w, 4to.; Front and rear cover slightly discoloured.
Published by BURGESS & BOWES
- Softcover
Seller: Le-Livre, SABLONS, , FranceLe-Livre
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Near fine
£ 31.86
£ 36.29 shippingShips from France to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Couverture souple. Condition: bon. RO80045506: Non daté. In-24. Broché. Etat d'usage, Couv. convenable, Dos satisfaisant, Intérieur frais. 288 + 255 pages. . . . Classification Dewey : 413-Dictionnaire bilingue.
Published by Bay Cities Racing Association, Oakland, CA 1949
Seller: S. Howlett-West Books (Member ABAA), Modesto, CA, U.S.A.S. Howlett-West Books (Member ABAA)
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 46.07
£ 4.10 shippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Booklet. Condition: Very Good-. B&W Illustrations; This is an oversized booklet with illustrated self covers and a stapled spine. This booklet is in Very Good- to Very Good condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The covers have some crumpling from being held. Both spine ends have some beginning tears. The text pages are… clean and bright. This copy includes handwritten notations on the entry list page, including times for some competitors races. The trophy dash pages with heats has been filled in (three pages worth). "Midget car racing was officially born on August 10, 1933 at the Loyola High School Stadium in Los Angeles as a regular weekly program under the control of the first official governing body, the Midget Auto Racing Association (MARA). After spreading across the country, the sport traveled around the world; first to Australia in 1934 at Melbourne's Olympic Park on December 15, and to New Zealand in 1937. Early midget races were held on board tracks previously used for bicycle racing. When the purpose built speedway at Gilmore Stadium was completed, racing ended at the school stadium, and hundreds of tracks began to spring up across the United States. Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (near Madison) is another major track in the United States operating since the first half of the twentieth century." "n 1931 the Oakland Speedway was built near Oakland, but actually was located between Oakland and nearby Hayward, California, on the site of what is now Bayfair Mall in San Leandro, California. Annually each fall the track hosted the "Oakland 500" race. Many of the local East Bay races were exhibited by the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA). In 1948 local East Bay driver Bob Barkhimer quit racing to become the Business Manager for BCRA. In 1949 Barkhimer took over San Jose Speedway and also started his own association (CSCRA) , and in 1954 he co-founded west coast NASCAR." (from Wikipedia).
Published by Nuffield Exports Ltd., April, 1961]., [Cowley, Oxford, UK: 1961
- Softcover
- First Edition
Seller: Zephyr Used & Rare Books, Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.Zephyr Used & Rare Books
Contact seller5-star sellerOblong 4to. 11 x 8.5 in. [12 pp (unpaginated).], which folds out into 22 x 25 in. dealer brochure, colour illustrated recto & verso, some photo illustrations. Self-printed colour-illustrated softcovers, cover art rendering of 1961 (minor soiling, very slight shelfwear), still VG. First edition of this exceptionally scarce MG dea…ler's brochure for the 1961 MG Midget, reviving the badge of earlier MG models such as the M-type, D-type, and T-type. This model was a slightly more expensive MLKII Austin-Healy Sprite Deluxe, with changes in grille design, badging, improved interior, better instruments, and a more polished look. The 1961 featured a 948 cc A-Series with about 46 horsepower. No copies in Worldcat.
More imagesPublished by Arco Publishing Company, New York 1967
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Dendera, London, United KingdomDendera
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
£ 60.00
£ 25.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Bernard "Midget" Farrelly's anecdotal guide to the technique of surf riding based on his personal experiences, as told to Craig McGregor. First US edition (1967) in the original black titled blue cloth in colour illustrated jacket 16x23cm. 192pp including seve…ral b/w photos and drawings. This is an ex-2nd Air Division USAAF Memorial Library copy, with presentation bookplate to the half-title (from the US Information Service on behalf of the USAF Europe Library Program dated May 1991), with the usual stamps and labels, one of which stamped "Withdrawn". Interiors otherwise very good. The jacket is in a Brodart sleeve affixed to the pastedowns. This includes chapters on the surfing life, learning to ride, techniques, waveology, stunt-riding, surfboard design and manufacture, world surfers, top surfing spots, the World Championship, surfing contests, hints, the story of surfing, waves and beaches, body surfing, and other surfing methods, with a glossary.
More imagesPublished by Burgess & Bowes Limited. 1934 1934
Seller: Jarndyce, The 19th Century Booksellers, London, , United KingdomJarndyce, The 19th Century Booksellers
Contact seller4-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 22.00
£ 35.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Contemp. full brown calf. A pleasantly tiny (8 x 5cm) dictionary.
Published by Self published 1940
Seller: Well-Stacked Books, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.Well-Stacked Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Good Plus. Collection of 4 vintage snapshot silver gelatin photographs of midget race car drivers, with car numbers present: 5, 24, 46 (like other sports, numbers were used by several persons). Each photo shows notations on the versos: three with the driver's name, and two with photographer credits, Elwood Wilson (Phi…ladelphia, PA). It's possible Wilson took all of the photos. Midget cars were smaller versions of sprint cars, the sport popular during the Second World War, and began around 1930s California and gradually eastwardly expanded to Midwest and eastern US. Photos range but 2.75 x 4.25 inches to 3.5 x 4.5 inches, all with white borders, single-weight. Good Plus overall, light rubbing, toning, foxing, curl, a few short tears, some with brief insect chews, and one is cropped to maintain the contour of the driver and the steering wheel (background cut).
- Hardcover
Seller: Celler Versandantiquariat, Eicklingen, , GermanyCeller Versandantiquariat
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 30.26
£ 32.83 shippingShips from Germany to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Burgess & Bowes, London, o.J. (um 1910). 222/252/233 S., original Leder/Rücken mit goldgraviertem Titel., Duodez (7,5 x 8 cm)---- Gute Exemplare - 750 Gramm.
Published by Published by George Johnson, 24 Buckingham Street, Strand, London, First Edition . 1939. 1939
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United KingdomLittle Stour Books PBFA Member
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 35.00
£ 30.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Condition: Very Good. Publisher's original wire stitched cream paper wrap covers (soft back). 8vo. 8'' x 6''. Contains 16 pp including the covers. Light foxing to the rear cover, else in Very Good condition. Member of the P.B.F.A. MAGIC & CONJURING.
[An exceptional archive of over 120 original photographs capturing the post-World War II midget car racing scene in the Pacific Northwest and the West focused on a couple different Kurtis Kraft midget race cars owned and operated by Leo Dobry, as well as racers for Geer McRae Motors, Nix Auto Wrecking in Seattle in Ballard's old Gasoline Alley, AA Plating Works in San Francisco, and others] together with: Articles of incorporation and by-laws of American Society of Professional Automobile Racing.
[AUTOMOBILE RACING -- MIDGET CARS]. [DOBRY, Leo & FANNING, Del].
Published by Leo Dobry; Del Fanning, ca. 1945-1955]., [Seattle & Tacoma, WA: 1945
- Hardcover
Seller: Zephyr Used & Rare Books, Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.Zephyr Used & Rare Books
Contact seller5-star seller4to. [29 leaves (unnumbered).] composed of mylar sleeves. With 122 original photos printed on glossy photo paper (5 Kodachrome colour photos), sized from 2.5 x 3.5 in. up to 3.5 x 5 in. some w/ annotations in lower fore-edge of image, or on verso, a few dated (some soiling to one image, & edgewear to a few). Recent cloth 3-ring…binder, lettering stamped on front cover, excellent exemplar. This sensational group of original photographs records open wheel midget car racing just after World War II in and around Seattle, Tacoma, & Puyallup, WA, Victoria, BC, Portland, OR, California, and Nevada, including photos of many of the midget racers and their drivers at the Portland Raceway, Aurora Speedway in Seattle, the San Mateo Fairgrounds, Reno Fairgrounds, and the historic Langford Speedway in Victoria, British Columbia. The hunger for speed, the presence of large numbers of skilled mechanics & machinists, a booming midget car racing scene nurtured by Ballard's Gasoline Alley, nurtured incredibly popular midget car racing circuits on the West Coast during the 1940s and 1950s. These photos open with shots of Geer McRae Motors Mercury, # 75, the AA Plating Works No. 2, Leo Dobry's No. 64 Kurtis Kraft midget racer driven by Del Fanning, a jalopy racer No. 26, sponsored by Nix Auto Wrecker owned by Edward Prestek, and the center of Ballard's old Gasoline Alley in Seattle, Swede Lindskog's No. 3 midget racer, and more. There are many photos of races, wrecked midget racers, midget open wheel racers on trailers, and many action shots of them hurtling down the tracks. A number of the photos depict iconic Seattle driver Del Fanning in front of, and sitting in his midget race cars, including the "Seattle Special," No. 7 for Dick's Auto Repair on 3817 Gilman Ave. in Seattle, as well as No. 63 owned by Leo Dobry, which was a Kurtis Midget, with Offenhauser Engine, and ran a number of races in the Northwest, set track records at Langford, and also raced the San Jose 100. There are photos annotated for the Portland Auto Show in 1954 when No. 44 wins 1st place, as well as a series of images showing a pristine Midget Racer under construction in a garage. Leo Dobry was a racing car owner out of Tacoma who was a moderately successful car owner on the AAA and ASPAR circuits in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as operated a successful speed shop which built and ran Kurtis Kraft racers on the Indy circuit, and the Pike's Peak Hill Climb. See: Don Radbruch, Dirt Track Auto Racing, 1919-1941: A Pictorial History, pp. 302-303, 100-124; Golden Wheels Fraternity, Auto Racing Pathfinders, Del Fanning History; Racin' Thru the Raindrops: A Virtual Motorsport Scrapbook, Lanford Speedway, Victoria, BC (2017); Brian Pratt, Big Car Racing at Lanford Speedway, Canadian Racer (2018); A Look Bat at Nix Auto Wrecking & Ballard's Gasoline Alley, Vintage West Woodland, August 29, 2016.
Published by Self published 1940
Seller: Well-Stacked Books, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.Well-Stacked Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 134.36
£ 5.22 shippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Condition: Very Good. Collection of 9 vintage snapshot photographs of midget race cars, from a state fair or auto show in Ohio during or shortly after WWII, with men in uniform, and "Isaly's" store sign present. Car numbers present: 1, 3, 8, 12, 24, 30 (like other sports, numbers were used by several persons). Midget cars were s…maller versions of sprint cars, the sport popular during the war, began 1930s California and gradually eastwardly expanded to Midwest US, where stores like Isaly's operated. Isaly's had locations in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, offering fine deli products rooted in 19th century Swiss cheese. Locations ceased but products are sold to date throughout Appalachia and the Mid-Atlantic. Photos 2.25 x 3.5 inches, all with white borders. Versos have small "9" rubberstamp and numerical notation. Very Good Plus overall, a few corner creases, faint smudges.
More imagesPublished by N.p., Los Angeles 1941
- Photo
Seller: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.Royal Books, Inc., ABAA
Contact seller5-star sellerCollection of six vintage photographs of California midget car racing, each with the same decorative border, at the short-lived Atlantic Speedway in Los Angeles, circa 1941. Featuring an unknown race car with number 23 painted on the tail, and "Warner Spl." painted just below the cockpit, a few of the mechanics responsible on-ha…nd. "X34" rubber-stamps on the versos. Midget racing began in California in the early 1930s in Los Angeles, the sport then owned and operated by the Midget Auto Racing Association (MARA). Small custom cars, many called "specials," looped on small wood tracks formerly reserved for bicycle races. A notable venue was Gilmore Stadium, built in 1934 by Earl Bell Gilmore, an heir to the Gilmore Oil Company. The Atlantic Speedway operated about 1935-1942, near Compton at the intersection of Atlantic and Banducci Boulevards (now part of Long Beach Expressway), and this collection offers a humble, pocket-sized look at that lost California track. 2.5 x 4 inches, silver gelatin. Near Fine.
More imagesPublished by Midget Card Shop, New Cumberland, PA 1920
- First Edition
- Manuscript
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.Capitol Hill Books, ABAA
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 268.71
£ 3.35 shippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Condition: Very Good+. New Cumberland, PA: Midget Card Shop, n.d., ca. 1920s. Small octavo (15.5cm); publisher's brown staplebound embossed card wrappers; [10]ll. stiff brown stock interleaved with tissue guards; thirty-one (31) mounted card samples. Light wear and very brief soil to upper cover, else a Very Good to Near Fine ex…ample. Rare little trade catalog of business cards and playing cards from the expanding Pennsylvania-based card company. Sample cards show different styles of "engravotyped" business cards, fraternal organization membership cards, and "comic cards" whose samples include a business card with a skull and crossbones and a devil card ("I am James W. Black who the [devil] are you?" The catalog concludes with samples of the company's specialty, "midget" name and playing cards and brownie name cards. Not separately catalogued in OCLC as of October, 2025.
Lundgren modern design midget racer: fifth actual size. [Design blueprints for two spring design round nose 84.5 in. open-wheel midget race car].
[AUTOMOBILES -- MIDGET CAR RACING]. LUNDGREN, [Harold Francis] & WILKE, Carroll [Frank].
Published by Lundgren, Carroll Wilke, [ca. 1935]., [Chicago, IL]: 1935
Seller: Zephyr Used & Rare Books, Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.Zephyr Used & Rare Books
Contact seller5-star sellerOblong folio. 24 x 17.5 in. [3 leaves (unnumbered).], blueprints stapled at gutter margin, self-printed softcovers, fold creases from having been originally rolled (minor edgewear, couple minor closed tears at outer fore-edge), still VG set of plans. These designs were prepared for Lundgren (1896-1979) who in the 1930's also wor…ked as an auto mechanic, machinist, as well as body fabricator and designer for himself, and later E.D. Lewis Motors in Chicago. Inspired by the "Modern" streamline design cues of the Century of Progress World's Fair 1933-1934 in Chicago, this 7 foot long open-wheel midget racer according to the plans had been fitted with reduced-size Miller-Duesenberg racing engines, first introduced as 16-cylinder 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 liter Grand Prix & Indy race-cars in the 1920's. By 1934, DOHC 4-cylinder Miller engines intended for powerboat racing were driving Indy car winners. The Lundgren Modern Midget Racer featured Pontiac, Ford Model A suspension, Hartford Shocks, and other converted parts. Wilke (1910-1999) was a noted draftsman, scale model builder for Dowst Manufacturing Co., the noted Chicago toy manufacturer of the Tootsie Toys, and later worked for the Stewart-Warner Corporation, Automotive Parts Division.
More imagesPublished by N.p., N.p. 1938
- Signed
- Manuscript
Seller: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.Royal Books, Inc., ABAA
Contact seller5-star sellerArchive of 63 vintage vernacular and professional photographs, along with a number of newspaper and program clippings, all relating to midget auto racing in Southern California, circa 1937-1938. All materials housed in a string-bound scrapbook, with captions in manuscript ink adjacent to most photographs. Of particular note in t…he archive are five photographs of African American "outlaw" racer Rajo Jack, the first driver to integrate into the all-white sport-nearly two decades before Jackie Robinson broke the "color barrier" in Major League baseball in 1947. Born Dewey Gatson in 1905, Jack would never have been able to compete on a national level in the American Automobile Association (AAA) due to his race, so he instead competed in the American Racing Association (ARA), the largest racing body to allow him to compete-making him an "outlaw" racer in the eyes of the AAA, and largely restricting him to West Coast racing. A continual target of discrimination, Jack would frequently claim to be of Native American or Portuguese heritage in order to race, although he was largely welcomed by his fellow drivers out of respect for his talent. These supporters would frequently band together to insist on Jack receiving equal service at segregated restaurants and motels. Jack won races up and down the West Coast in stock cars, midgets, big cars, and motorcycles, and in 2003 was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2007. Archive also includes content relating to drivers Fred Frame and the Robson brothers, as well as the Oakland Speedway and the Southern Ascot Speedway. Other noted drivers in the collection include Travis 'Spider' Webb, Tex Petersen (including one photograph signed by Petersen), Einer 'Swede' Lindskog, Harry Lester, Morris 'Slim' Mathis, Hal Robson, and Harry Secrest. An impressive and extensive archive of photographs of the South California midget auto racing scene of the 1930s, with a rare substantial grouping of photographs of Rajo Jack at the height of his career. Scrapbook measuring 12.25 x 13.5 inches. Very Good, with most leaves brittle and separated from binding. Photographs generally 5 x 3.25 inches, with one as small as 1.25 x 1.5 inches, and several as large as 5 x 3.25 inches. Very Good plus to Near Fine.
Midget Map of Long Beach California / Motor and Relief Map of Southern California.
1925 Pacific-Southwest Trust 'Midget Map' of Long Beach, California
- Signed
- Map
Seller: Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
Contact seller4-star sellerVery good. Light wear along original folds. One small tear at junction of folds professionally repaired. Booklet attached. Map on Verso. Handwriting in blue marker in upper left quadrant and in black pencil in one point on map. Size 13.75 x 12 Inches. An absorbing 1925 'midget' folding map of Long Beach, California, produced by…the Pacific-Southwest Trust and Savings Bank. Among other features, it is notable for highlighting the city's ongoing oil boom and a verso view of the developing road and highway network in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. A Closer Look The map covers the city of Long Beach, with streets labeled and also listed in an index on either side of the map, corresponding to a grid surrounding it. A large red-shaded area denotes the Long Beach Oil Field, the most productive in the world at the time (discussed below). Red lines trace major traffic arteries, while black lines mark out rail, interurban (Pacific Electric), and streetcar lines. An inset of the Alamitos Bay District, to the southeast of the main map, appears towards the top-right. An impressive bird's-eye view of the road network of Southern California between San Fernando and Laguna Beach occupies the verso, along with two insets detailing the road network between San Francisco and Los Angeles and between Los Angeles and San Diego, respectively. Drawn by L.A. Times staff illustrator Charles Owens, this view would be adapted by Owens and republished on other road maps for several years afterward, becoming one of the iconic road maps (or views) of the region at the time. The Long Beach Oil Boom When Long Beach was incorporated in 1897, it was a small and sleepy resort town for Angelinos looking to relax at the beach, similar to Venice or Santa Monica further north. It was the terminus of the first line of the Pacific Electric railcar system (opened in 1902), which would eventually link the entire L.A. metro area. Several housing development projects were also attempted (with limited results), and an upscale shopping district grew into a downtown. However, the city's history changed dramatically when significant oil deposits were discovered there and in nearby Signal Hill in the early 1920s. Hundreds of oil derricks sprung up almost overnight, with Signal Hill being nicknamed 'Porcupine Hill' for the large number of wells sticking out from it. During the 1920s, the Long Beach Oil Field was the most productive in the world. In 1932, the even larger Wilmington Oil Field, which mostly sits below Long Beach, was discovered. The boom caused the population of Long Beach to nearly triple between 1920 and 1930. The city suffered serious damage in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, which might have been triggered by oil and gas extraction. In the aftermath of the earthquake, new building standards were adopted throughout the state of California to reduce the risk of buildings collapsing. Publication History and Census This map was produced by the Pacific-Southwest Trust and Savings Bank, which was created (along with the First National Bank of Los Angeles and First Securities Company) by a merger of twenty banks and financial institutions in 1922. No cartographer is noted on the recto, while the verso view is signed by Charles Owens, a prolific artist in southern California who was the staff illustrator at the Los Angeles Times . Signed by Author(s).
