Arizona — published by the George F. Cram Company in 1920 — appears here under its original title, Arizona, composed for the Auto Trails and Commercial Survey of the United States. In a vibrant palette, the state’s counties and borders are crisply distinguished, while a web of roads and auto trails threads across desert basins and mountain uplands. State highways and principal routes are boldly drawn in red and blue, their hierarchy legible at a glance; unique color bands pick out the named auto trails that guided motorists before numbered highways. Electric lines, carefully overprinted in red, announce the new reach of power into farms, mines, and towns. Hachures lend tactile relief to the landscape, and population statistics from the 1920 census anchor each community in its moment of growth.

George F. Cram’s Chicago-based firm had, by 1920, refined a house style prized for clarity, color logic, and practical intelligence. The Auto Trails and Commercial Survey was one of the company’s masterworks: a 136‑page compendium with 98 color maps and supporting black‑and‑white charts, designed to knit together the nation’s new habits of driving, shipping, and investing. Standardized symbols, a traffic‑sign legend, and a comprehensive index and gazetteer made the atlas as useful to traveling salesmen as to county engineers and bankers. Cram, a Civil War veteran turned publisher, built his reputation on atlases that brought current data into the hands of ordinary users; this Arizona sheet distills that ethos, marrying vivid design with up‑to‑the‑minute infrastructure and demographic reporting at the dawn of America’s automotive age.

Topography is rendered with classic hachures that sweep from the Colorado Plateau’s broken escarpments to the tawny plains of the Sonoran frontier. The Mogollon Rim is beautifully modeled as a bold stair dividing high forest from low desert; the San Francisco Peaks rise above Flagstaff, while the Chiricahua, Santa Catalina, and Huachuca ranges stipple the southeast. Rivers articulate the map: the Colorado carves Arizona’s western spine; the Gila gathers the Salt and Verde from the irrigated Salt River Valley; the Little Colorado traverses the north, and the Santa Cruz threads the borderlands toward Tucson and Nogales. Grand Canyon National Park, newly designated in 1919, commands the northwest, with adjacent plateaus and canyons crisply named. Such physiographic finesse frames the routes, settlements, and power lines that animate the state’s modern story.

Urban and regional patterns emerge with remarkable specificity. Phoenix stands at the heart of Maricopa County’s grid, its satellite towns—Mesa, Tempe, Glendale, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert, and Peoria—strung along canals and section lines in the fertile Salt River Valley. Tucson anchors the south as a rail and educational hub, linked to mining and ranching districts that run east toward Douglas and north through Casa Grande. Farther afield, Flagstaff sits beneath the Peaks, Yuma guards the Colorado crossing, and Show Low marks the cool highlands. Transcontinental and regional auto trails traverse these nodes, with a northern corridor skirting Kingman, Flagstaff, Winslow, and Holbrook, and a southern route binding Yuma, Phoenix, and Tucson—each path differentiated in unique colors that turn early motoring into a legible, almost narrative, journey.

Equally revealing is the infrastructure beneath the roads. Red overprints track electric lines fanning from hydroelectric projects and powerhouses to copper camps and smelters—Jerome, Globe–Miami, Bisbee—and to fast‑growing townsites. Differentiation between paved and improved roads registers the young state’s investments, while 1920 census tallies spotlight corridors of rapid change in the Salt and Santa Cruz valleys and along the northern transcontinental axis. Administrative boundaries are cleanly staged to show county responsibilities, jurisdictional shifts, and commercial reach. The atlas’s index and gazetteer let readers chase every ranch, siding, and settlement; its traffic‑sign aids smooth interpretation on the ground. Viewed today, this Cram Arizona is both itinerary and x‑ray: a precise, color‑keyed record of a landscape on the cusp of the highway era, gathering momentum toward modern Arizona.

Cities and towns on this map

• Phoenix
• Tucson
• Mesa
• Chandler
• Scottsdale
• Glendale
• Tempe
• Gilbert
• Peoria
• Surprise
• Flagstaff
• Yuma
• Casa Grande
• Lake Havasu City
• Sierra Vista
• Show Low
• Douglas

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Clearly marked administrative boundaries with distinct colors
• Detailed highways and state roads shown in red and blue
• Electric lines illustrated in red
• Paved and improved roads indicated
• Population statistics derived from the 1920 census
• Hachures used for indicating relief elevation
• Major cities, capitals, and counties marked prominently
• Indication of auto trails in unique colors
• Presence of traffic signs as navigational aids
• Comprehensive index and gazetteer accompanying the map

Historical and design context

• Published by George F. Cram Company in 1920
• Created as part of the “Auto Trails and Commercial Survey of the United States”
• Part of a larger 136-page series featuring 98 color maps and black-and-white charts
• Design style uses vibrant colors to differentiate boundaries and roads for clarity
• Represents Arizona’s early 20th-century infrastructure and population patterns
• Coverage spans the entire state with emphasis on counties and major towns

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.