• presentation of the map reproduction without a frame
  • Map of the Caribbean with a focus on a specific island, featuring a red arrow and text about well-known cheeses.
  • Vintage-style illustration of a person working with text overlay
  • Text on a yellow and beige background with 'Printed in England' and 'World Copyright Reserved'.
  • Illustration of a cheese packaging scene with text about air-tight wrappers.
  • Vintage-style advertisement for 'Craft Foods Ltd.' with a yellow border and black text on a beige background.
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Antique map of European cheeses, the story of cheese, 1950

SKU:  195450

Antique map of European cheeses, the story of cheese, 1950

€63,07 EUR
€63,07 EUR
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Map of European Cheeses – The Story of Cheese is a fascinating mid-century educational and promotional map that combines geography, culinary culture, and graphic design. Produced in 1950 through a collaboration between Educational Productions Ltd. and Kraft Foods, the map presents a richly illustrated overview of Europe’s most famous cheese-producing regions.

The composition transforms the continent of Europe into a visual celebration of regional food traditions. Countries and territories are populated with illustrations of distinctive cheeses, dairy customs, and local references associated with national culinary identity. Famous varieties from France, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, and other European regions are carefully identified, creating both an educational guide and an engaging decorative artwork.

Like many illustrated food maps of the mid-twentieth century, the work blends commercial promotion with cultural storytelling. While Kraft Foods had obvious marketing interests in promoting cheese consumption, the map also reflects growing American fascination with European cuisine and international food culture during the postwar era.

The visual style is highly characteristic of 1950s educational graphics. Bright colors, playful illustrations, decorative typography, and simplified geographic forms create a friendly and accessible composition intended for both entertainment and learning. Rather than strict cartographic accuracy, emphasis is placed on regional identity and visual charm.

Map of European Cheeses – The Story of Cheese also reflects broader cultural trends of the period, when illustrated maps became popular tools for teaching geography, history, and culinary traditions in schools, kitchens, and homes.

Today, the map is appreciated not only as vintage advertising ephemera but also as a collectible example of mid-century graphic design and food cartography, valued by culinary historians, map collectors, and interior design enthusiasts alike.

Materials

Cotton canvas, matte photo paper, fine art paper, pigmented inks.

  • The canvas it's 99 % cotton, 450 gr/sqm;
  • The matte photo paper it's acid-free (archival paper), 190 gr/sqm;
  • The fine art photo paper it's satinated (semi-glossy), 140 gr/sqm.

Shipping & Returns

Dispatching time: 1-2 days.

* Standard shipping fee: The orders will be sent by priority registered mail, usually via client National Post (USPS, Canada Post, Royal Mail, LaPoste, Deutsche Post, PostNL, etc). The delivery times are not guaranteed, sometimes it will take longer and these are beyond our control. Tracking number will be provided. Clients from US and Canada cannot track the parcels as the tracking numbers are not rolled in USPS and Canada Post systems.

* UPS standard: The orders will be sent with UPS expedited option. The delivery time it's between 5-11 days. Tracking number will be provided after dispatch.

* UPS express: The orders will be sent with UPS express saver. The delivery time it's between 4-7 days. Tracking number will be provided after dispatch.

Framing tips

Both type of materials, paper and canvas prints come rolled and will be need to be taken to your local framers.

The image it's printed with a border of 0.6 " (1.5 cm), for framing purposes only.

If you have already a frame, be sure you send us the exact size of the print that will fit inside the frame. We're printing on vectorial plotters so the size could slightly be more or less with 0.4" (1 cm).

If you plan to have the canvas print stretched on wooden frame, you'll need additional border, so please let us know after placing the order.

The images above was cropped from the image at the biggest size available (keeping the best quality and aspect /ratio), so, for good details please choose biggest dimensions that will suit your preferences / space.

Care Instructions

The print media (canvas or photo paper) could be cleaned only with a dry, soft cloth.

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