The 1918 Map Index

[George Thomas Wilson]

The 1918 Map Index

The Western Theater of War

[and other Map Index related happenings]

 

 

As many of you are aware I recently won an auction for the very first Index of a Supplement Map.  Mel De Vilbiss even posted a DISCUSSION about the auction here at the ‘Corner while it was going on.  The map is from the May 1918 issue and entitled, “The Western Theater of War.”  I have received it, looked it over, and placed it in my collection.  The obligatory image of it is here:

Besides the immediate thrill of possession only a true collector would understand, I have a few first-take observations on this item.  The first is that it was expensive.  After shipping and taxes, I paid a little over $2,000 for it.  That is twice what the last one auction for and twice what I figure it’s truly worth.  The only reason I mentioned the amount was for later when I talk disparity.  As to its physical attributes, the first thing that struck me was that it was small.  Look at it compared to a standard size Map Index:

The next thing I noticed was it was thick.  Unlike other Map Indices, this one is bound with a spine and has 72 pages plus 4 pages of advertisements (“Wild Animals of North America,” “The Book of Birds,” “Flags of the World,” and Other Maps published by the National Geographic Society).  The final impression I got was that it was coarse.  The cover is a rough cardboard (think old Article Reprints like “Greece and the Aegean,” etc.).  Before I move on from the 1918 Map Index, I wanted to mention the Back Cover:

Notice it has an image of a Cover from a National Geographic Magazine.  This is strikingly similar to the Map Indices of the 1960s where a small image of the cover of the issue from which the map was a supplement at the bottom of its cover.  Unlike those cover images this one is not of the May 1918 issue, but an image of the cover of the November 1910 issue:

Image courtesy of Philip Riviere

 

 

As I had rambled on before about collecting Map Indices, there had been a dearth of them for sale on eBay save for Rob Choquette selling of his dad’s collection, and a collection in Europe, there has been slim pickings for several years.  Since my primary collection had 90 Indices at the start of 2023 and my backup collection was 74 strong, I fully expected to be filling out my backup collection, but in all of 2023, ’24, ’25, and ’26 up to and including this purchase I have acquired four Indices, all for my primary collect which now stands at 94.  Meanwhile my backup collection has been stuck at 74.

I tend to divide my collections into three parts: the early years (the first 10), the core (the next seventy: 11 to 80), and the remainder (81 to 117).  While a few of the early Indices are easy to find, some are extremely rare.  The core of a Map Index collection WERE all items easy-ish to find, costing around $25 more or less.  They have become much scarcer on eBay the late few years.  The remaining issues are rarer, like the early issues, with some more common than others.  In my main collection, I have 7 out of 10 early indices (70%); all 70 core indices (100%); and 11 out of 15 Supplement Map Indices from the remainder (73%).  On the other hand, I have only 2 early indices (20%); 67 core indices (96%); and only 3 SMIs from the remainder (20%).  The reason I brought up this dividing of my collection is that I wanted to talk a little about the core of my backup collection.  In Rob’s auction, as well as the one in Europe, almost every core index was listed and most sold, but none were the three I needed:

No. 16:             May 1940                    “Europe and the Near East”

No. 18:             February 1942             “Theater of War in the Pacific Ocean”

No. 65:             December 1953          “Great Lakes Region of the USA and Canada”

In an earlier discussion I referred to these three items as low-hanging fruit.  But my thinking was that there would be a slow but steady trinkle of Indices showing up, not one or two a year.  Much to my surprise, two days after I purchased the 1918 Index, a set of nine Indices ranging from 1937 to 1943 appeared for sale.  A quick scan showed that one of them was the May 1940 Index for which I was seeking.

This brings my backup collection to 75.  Priced at $35 for the set of nine Indices with map, plus two additional non-indexed maps, I bought it on the spot.  I’d deal with the other eight later, although I notice immediately that one of the indices was the May 1942 North America Index that I intended to keep.  My reasoning was simple.  I had a cover variant between the Index in my primary collection compared to the one in my backup collection.  One variant has “25c THE COPY” in the right banner on the bottom border while the other has “WASHINGTON D. C.” in that banner.

If I ever wanted to part with my backup, I would have to rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak, inasmuch as I would remove the Index from the backup collection leaving 74.  A quick scan of the remaining seven indices showed that three of them had cover variants, one of which had an internal variant as well.  One more of the indices had an internal variant, but I had to wait for delivery before I could investigate further.

Upon receipt of the indices, the first thing I noticed was that they all are stamped:

            Assistant Chief of Staff, A-2

            Headquarters, Eighth Air Force,

            A.P.O. 633, U.S. Army,

Some of them had the stamp crossed out, fortunately with pencil so they could be erased somewhat.  Next, I compared the three cover variant indices to the ones in my collection.  To my joy, the October 1942 Map Index of South America was different than the two I had.  This Index now is a variant in my primary collection.

The other two possible cover variants did not pan out.  Then I moved on to checking for internal variants.  These involve back pages either having advertisements or blank pages.  I had no luck with the first, but the last one I checked indeed was a variant.  Both of my December 1940 USA and Adjacent Areas Index had advertisements on the last page and the inside back cover.  My newest copy had blank pages.

So, this one purchase, for under $45 with shipping and taxes, I was able to add an Index to my backup collection and three variant indexes to my primary collection.  These nine Indices cost less than $5 apiece.  Compare that to what I paid for the 1918 Index, and you see that something is not quite right.  The disparity is way too great.  To give another example of this disconnect, Rob had another Index up for bid: the May 1933 USA and Adjacent Areas Index.  I would have liked it for my backup collection, but I was outbid.  It cost the winner close to $600 dollars for an Index that isn’t that rare.  For comparison, I purchased a December 1929 Europe and the Near East Index, a rarer Index, in October 2022 for $19.99.

I have added my new Indices and variants to my Worksheet that appears in my DISCUSSION on Indices from last year.  I’ve also added the five surplus Indices to one extra I already had.  They are the following:

No. 9                December 1937          “Pacific Ocean and Hawaii”

No. 13              October 1939              “Central Europe and the Mediterranean”

No. 19              May 1942                    “Theater of War in Europe, Africa, & W Asia”

No. 22              December 1942          “Asia and Adjacent Areas”

No. 23              February 1943             “Africa”

No. 40              June 1947                    “Canada, Alaska, and Greenland”

If anybody needs any of these Indices, let me know.

 

Yours in collecting,

Tom Wilson

[Scott T. Shier]

Nice overview, thanks for sharing Tom. Congratulations on the 1918 Theatre of War Index - I'll just have to hate you later : - ) 

I too have noticed the dearth of map indices these past few years, and also, I agree the pricing on them has been swinging wildly like a pendulum. The same index can go for $30 one month, and $100 the next, and/or $15 some other time. 

This 1918 Index while rare, I do not think should merit an astounding $2.000.

-- Scott

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

Well done, Tom!

[George Thomas Wilson]

As an addendum to this discussion, I wanted to mention that I have a copy of the map for this Index.  I purchased it back the last time this Index was up for sale.  I didn't win that time but kept the map with my Index collection in hopes.

Map image courtesy of Philip Riviere

[Scott T. Shier]

I've had this map (no Index!) since 2006