The Romantic Southwest

“People with a zest for activity, as well as those with a desire to lounge, find life exactly to their liking in the diverting Valley of the Sun.” – Text, lower left. This inviting pictorial map of Arizona was illustrated by Hague (artist’s name, lower right) and published in 1938 by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. The Valley of the Sun is depicted through a clever combination of vignettes, persuasive text, and illustrated geography. Rugged mountains, arid deserts, and thick forests dot the landscape, while depictions of local history, culture, and industry reflect contemporary ideas about regional identity. Native Americans are shown almost reverently, while our Mexican neighbors are taking naps under wide-brimmed sombreros. Phoenix sits in the center of an overprinted blue lasso, the land of the cowboys and the ‘catch’ of the Southwest.