Description:

World War II

WWII 79th Infantry Division Pictorial Maps, Complete Set of 4!

 

A complete set of four colorful pictorial maps designed by Steve Kaliher and Harry D. White, 79th Infantry servicemen and cartographers. The maps were published ca. 1945 by Fritz Busche Druckereiges M.B.H., one of the oldest book publishers in Dortmund, Germany. Together, the maps depict the troop movements of the 79th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army Reserve over an 11-month-long period, between June 1944 and May 1945. The souvenir maps would have been collected mostly by ex-servicemen, as a memento or as a visual record of service.

 

The four exquisite maps are all laid down on cardboard, and exhibit expected wear including isolated water stains, foxing, and edge darkening. Scattered repaired closed tears are found throughout. The wear is entirely consistent with the age of the maps, and the fact that they were likely roughly transported inside a soldier's kit or backpack. The stunning visual impact of the maps remains unaffected. They measure between 33" x 24-26".

 

Kaliher & White's maps are valuable historical documents recorded by firsthand participants and observers of the conflict. Troop movements are shown geographically and temporally--in most cases on a day-by-day basis. Yet the maps should also be viewed as pieces of art. Kaliher & White depicted a variety of different military experiences--from hiding in forest foxholes to parading prisoners of war, to enjoying a U.S.O. performance to directing postwar recovery efforts--in a highly imaginative and dramatic fashion. Tanks, trucks, and ambulances are shown literally driving off the edges of the map. Vignettes are depicted in varying degrees of realism or abstraction. Text blocks--alternately ironic, grim, or triumphant--summarize the division's record of service.

 

Each map has a cream colored background showing a traditional bird's eye view. This is enhanced by schematics in red and black showing movement over time. Vignettes--in multiple perspectives--crowd in empty spaces and create a collage effect. Each map features a border comprised of place names through which the division traveled, rendered in stylized bubble lettering. A title plate, complete with the division's emblem, the Cross of Lorraine, appears on each map, along with the artists' names and that of the German map publisher.

 

The 79th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army Reserve was mobilized in 1942, trained stateside in 1943, and dispatched overseas in April 1944. The division saw 248 days of combat in France, the Benelux countries, and Germany before it returned to the United States and was deactivated in late December 1945. Estimated at 15,000 men at its largest size, the 79th Infantry Division participated in the inexorable march eastwards towards the heart of Nazi Germany. Major General Ira T. Wyche (1887-1981) commanded the division between June 1942 and May 1945. Map artist Steve Kaliher (1910-1969) was an engineer, surveyor, and mapmaker who enlisted in 1942.

 

The maps are briefly outlined below:

 

MAP #1 - "Through France / With / The 79th Infantry Division / 14 June to 29 Aug, 1944 / Maj Gen I.T. Wyche, Commanding"

 

This map depicts the division's landing in Normandy just a week after D-Day, and its fording the Seine River near Mantes Gassicourt in late August. Featured vignettes include a view of soldiers crossing a bridge on "the darkest, rainiest" night in recent record. Isolated discoloration, scattered foxing and wrinkles, several repaired closed tears, else very good. 33" x 26".

 

MAP #2 - "To Belgium and Back / With / The 79th Infantry Division / 31 Aug to 25 Oct, 1944 / Maj Gen I.T. Wyche, Commanding"

 

The division was stationed near the banks of the Oise River in late August and continued east throughout the fall towards Luneville. Reims Cathedral is represented near center, as well as a parade of white-clad prisoners of war at bottom; a combat advance comprised of troop-carrying trucks, ambulances, and tanks at upper left; and forest bunkers at extreme right. Scattered foxing. A large water stain at upper right. A repaired closed tear along the left edge. Else very good. 33" x 25.5".

 

MAP #3 - "To The Rhine / With / The 79th Infantry Division / 25 Oct to 14 Feb. 1945 / Maj Gen I.T. Wyche, Commanding"

 

In the late fall, the 79th Infantry Division moved due east towards Lauterberg and then doubled back towards Pont-à-Mousson. The war's destructiveness is conveyed through vignettes showing rubble-strewn cities and tank-littered roadways. "House by house and stone by stone, lacking blood plasma and ammunition, the 315 Inf made of Hatten and Rittershoffen a burial ground for many of Hitler's best troops," the text proclaimed. Scattered foxing and repaired closed tears, else very good. 33" x 24".

 

MAP #4 - "Over The Rhine / With / The 79th Infantry Division / 17 Feb to 9 May 1945 / Maj. Gen. I.T. Wyche, Commanding"

 

From Tongeren, Belgium, the division moved through the southern panhandle of Holland into Germany by early March. Dortmund, the city where the Kaliher & White maps were published, is depicted at upper right. "So, from Pont-a-Mousson [sic] through Luxembourg, over the bloody ground of the Ardennes Bulge, through Liege to Tongeren, in Belgium, some by train and some by truck, the division moved into place behind the Ninth Army. Passes to Brussels and Liege - 'Ja, Ja' instead of 'Oui, oui!'" The central vignette showing an American soldier ordering the rebuilding of Germany, surrounded by flag-carrying delegates from around the world, perfectly captured the postwar optimism: "And, on May 9, 'Victory in Europe Day,' the 79th Division was engaged in government of more than 1000 square miles of the industrial Ruhr Valley. Each man was filled with pride in his combat record and confidence in the future." Scattered water stains and some larger repaired closed tears, else very good. 33" x 26".

 

A complete set of Kaliher & White pictorial maps, perfect for display!

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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