Vintage Motoring Map Collection
This lot is a mixed collection of vintage motoring ephemera, centred on an Auto-Mapic roll-map viewer in a cream plastic case with red side fittings and an embossed “AUTO-MAPIC” title. The viewer carries a printed warning not to press on the transparent front or back when changing sections. Also included is a red-bound road atlas with a printed road map, a folded Esso map of Deutschland (Bundesrepublik mit Nachbargebieten), and a Bartholomew’s Revised Half-Inch Contoured Map, Great Britain Sheet 15, Herts & Bucks, mounted on cloth. The lot further comprises an orange Automobile Association folder bearing the AA emblem and the words “The Automobile Association”, and a Visitors’ Bus Wheel, a circular London sightseeing guide with a route selector, housed in a black wallet with a Shell logo.
Condition and Collectability
The items show signs of age and handling consistent with their period, and the lot is offered as seen, with no assurances made as to completeness or function. The Bartholomew map and the Auto-Mapic viewer will be of particular interest to collectors of motoring and cartographic ephemera, while the branded Esso, AA and Shell items appeal to those interested in petrol company and motoring association memorabilia. Together the group offers a useful insight into how British and European motorists navigated before satellite guidance, making it a characterful grouping for enthusiasts, museums and those furnishing a motoring-themed display.
