The Finished Panama Canal. Svenska Amerikanaren. Amerikas mest lästa och bäst omtyckta svenska tidning [“America’s most read and best-liked Swedish newspaper”]. Birdseye View of the Panama Zone Showing the U.S. Isthmian Canal from the Latest Official Date Furnished by the Isthmian Canal Commission [map-title].

Chicago: Svenska Amerikanaren; George F. Cram, printer, 208 N. Fifth Ave., [1915]. Broadsheet (27” x 18”) with two maps, original brass strips affixed to top and bottom edges; recto map, 10.5” x 9.5”; verso map, 23” x 15.5”. CONDITION: Vertical and horizontal creasing, some chips, short tears and light wear at margins.

A rare and interesting broadsheet featuring two maps, one depicting the newly completed Panama Canal, accompanied by several inset illustrations as well as explanatory text revealing the Canal’s workings.

Published by the Swedish-American newspaper of Chicago, Svenska Amerikanaren, this broadsheet appeared soon after the completion of one of the most remarkable engineering accomplishments in history. The recto features a colored map of the Panama Canal entitled, Birdseye View of the Panama Zone Showing the U.S. Isthmian Canal from the Latest Official Date Furnished by the Isthmian Canal Commission. Above the map are the dates the U.S. began work on the canal (1904) and when the canal was officially opened (1915).

Extending from the Caribbean Sea to the Bay of Panama in the Pacific, this detailed map shows the route of the canal and depicts topography, ships, lighthouses, islands, and various bodies of water. A range of inset illustrations demonstrate the workings and structure of the canal. Insets in the bottom-left corner show the Culebra Cut (indicating the respective French and U.S. excavations) and the Pedro Miguel Lock. Insets in the upper-right corner show the “Gatun Dam, Lake and Locks” as well as the side wall of a lock—incorporating a building, human, train, and horse-drawn carriage for scale. Also included is a note regarding the Atlantic tides, the Panama R.R., lighthouses and beacons. A detailed profile of the Canal appears above the map, accompanied by an extensive explanation. A map of Sweden and Norway appears on the verso. Although clearly published to appeal to immigrants of Scandinavian origin, the text is entirely in English—apart from the title—suggesting an attempt to reach a broader audience.

The table of “Distances Saved by Panama Canal” graphically displays the old and new distances in mileage from New York, New Orleans and San Francisco to various destinations such as Japan, Hamburg, Sydney, Honolulu, Manila, and so forth. Text around the map’s margins offers in-depth description of the following aspects of the Canal: Length and Depth; Locks; Lockage Waters; Gatun Dam and Lake; Lake Miraflores; Towering Vessels; Lock Gates; Time of Operating; The Panama Railroad; The Canal Zone; Time of Operating; and Operating the Locks.

At the time of this publication, the Svenska Amerikanaren ran to sixteen pages; printed 75,000 copies per edition; and boasted some 47,000 subscribers. In the Fall of 1914, the paper merged with its old rival Gamla och nya Hemlandet and became Svenska Amerikanaren Hemlandet (the Swedish American Homeland) through 1915, when it returned to the name Svenska Amerikanaren. The subscription price for the Svenska Amerikanaren is here noted as being one dollar per year.

While the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, the idea of its existence dates back to the European discovery of America. Christopher Columbus—and later explorers—sought such a route in their travels west and across North America. The 1848 Gold Rush, which brought a deluge of immigration to California, again highlighted the desirability of such a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The French began building the canal in 1881 but abandoned the immense project in 1894. Following Panama’s independence from Columbia (Nov. 1903), the U.S. assumed the task of creating the canal, which was completed and opened a decade later, mere days after the outbreak of World War One. Travel time between New York and San Francisco was thereby cut in half, the distance between the two cities reduced by some 8,000 miles. The farmers of the midwest, Swedish and otherwise, being reliant on shipping to get their products to the world markets, would doubtless have taken a great interest in such a major development.

No copies recorded in OCLC.

REFERENCES: Minnesota Historical Society. Svenska Amerikanaren at mnhs.org; Schulten, Susan. A History of America in 100 Maps (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018), pp. 172–73, for commentary on the Panama Canal.