Colorful Colorado (1940) - Vintage Pictorial Map Lithograph

Colorado 1941: The Story Behind the Map
In 1941, with the country still feeling the ripples of the Great Depression and on the cusp of war, Colorado stood as a land of contrast—mountain grandeur, sweeping plains, and communities forging identity between past and future. The Colorful Colorado Presents for Your Enjoyment Snow-Capped Mountains – Superb Scenic Regions – Glorious Vacation Playgrounds pictorial map, created by Ray Schmidt and printed by the Bradford-Robinson Printing Company for the Colorado State Highway Department, is more than a travel poster. It’s a visual manifesto of Colorado’s promise and pride.
Schmidt’s map stretches from Utah’s red canyons to Kansas’s plains, from Wyoming’s high ridges to New Mexico’s mesas. Across this geography he scatters vignettes full of life. One moment you see covered wagons, cowboys, and prospectors; the next you spot modern cars, airplanes, and highways. In the lower left, Cliff House at Mesa Verde hints at ancient heritage. In the upper corner, a giant dinosaur marks Dinosaur National Monument. Wildlife—bighorn sheep, elk, deer, beaver—roam in stylized beauty. Cities like Denver, Colorado Springs, Durango, Pueblo, and Grand Junction are labeled and illustrated—Denver even gets a sketch of the Capitol building.
The map weaves stories in symbols. The mountains are not background—they are characters. Passes and peaks are named and annotated. Rivers and valleys shape the lines of roads and routes. The highways, new and bold, carve paths across the mapped land, promising connection, tourism, and commerce. It is a state both rooted and reaching.
The tension in 1941 was real. The United States had not yet entered World War II, but global conflict colored the air. Colorado’s citizens lived in the shadow of economic recovery and the uncertain horizon of war. At home, highways and tourism were lifelines—visitors from out of state brought revenue, and state leaders pushed road building as investment in infrastructure and identity.
Schmidt’s map embraces that tension. It shows both heritage—mining, westernness, frontier—and modernity—cars, aviation, highways, growth. It invites the viewer to trace routes, dream travels, and see Colorado not only as landscape, but as destination.
Viewed today, the 1941 map is a tapestry of ambition, nostalgia, and invitation. It recalls a moment when Colorado was asserting its identity to the nation. In its vignettes, routes, and bold mountain forms lies the belief that this state is not merely to be traversed—but to be experienced, celebrated, and claimed as home.

Our maps are printed on premium archival paper using museum-quality inks that resist fading for over 100 years. Each piece is carefully inspected and ships ready to frame. For canvas prints, we use professional-grade canvas with a protective coating that ensures your map will remain vibrant for decades to come.