1938 Qantas Empire Airways - A New Air Map from the Australian Viewpoint.
the Vintage Map Shop, Inc.
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By: Rhys William & W. H. Maze / Qantas Empire Airways
Date of Original: 1938 (circa) Australia
Original Size: 40 x 26.5 inches
This is a fine print reproduction of a Qantas Empire Airways travel poster titled "A New Air Map from the Australian Viewpoint. Great Circle Courses to the Four Quarters of the Earth," originally published in 1938 by the commercial artist Rhys Williams in collaboration with the cartographer W. H. Maze.
The poster is conceived as a functional yet visually striking air route map designed to promote Qantas’s global reach. The map presents the world in a distinctive cloverleaf projection, divided into four lobes that radiate outward from Sydney, which is placed at the center as the point of origin for all routes. The cartographic design emphasizes great circle navigation, with concentric rings marking equal distances from Sydney and radiating lines indicating the shortest air routes to major cities across the globe.
Each quadrant focuses on a different region, including Europe and Asia, the North Pacific and North America, Africa and the Indian Ocean, and South America and the Atlantic. Cities, oceans, and distances are clearly labeled, transforming the poster into both an educational tool and a persuasive advertisement that positions Australia as a central hub in international aviation.
Beneath the map, a Qantas C class flying boat is shown in flight, symbolizing long range capability and modern air transport. The inclusion of the Australian flag and imperial insignia reinforces national identity and Commonwealth connections, aligning technological achievement with national pride.
Qantas Empire Airways was founded in 1920 and, by the late 1930s, had become a key link in long-distance air travel between Australia, Asia, Africa, and Britain. Following the Second World War, the airline dropped the “Empire Airways” name and in 1947 was renamed Qantas Airways Limited, continuing in operation to this day as Australia’s national carrier under the shortened name Qantas.
Inventory #81049