This rare “GEHOGRAPHY” is a triumph of imagination and arguably my all-time favorite cartographic cartoon. 

This map depicts the United States as a pig, with the snout at Maine and two legs represented by the peninsulas of Florida and Baja.  A third leg rests on Cuba, drawn in the shape of a sausage, and the fourth on the Sandwich Islands, drawn-naturally-as a cluster of sandwiches.  The “GEHOGRAPHY,” as the author refers to it, is surrounded by the seals of the states and the names of their favored pork-based dishes.  Two vignettes at lower left and right illustrate events-both involving pigs–that resulting in litigation or legislation that changed the course of American history. 

The map was designed one William Emerson Baker (1828-1888), who intended it to serve simultaneously as a keepsake, promotional piece and symbol of national unity:

“whose successful Grover & Baker Sewing Machine Company produced accessibly-priced units for home use, retired in 1868 at the age of forty.  He moved to a large farm in Needham, Mass., which he transformed into an amusement park full of attractions and exhibits that expressed his radical political viewpoints. “ In the mid-1870s, Baker’s activist heart turned to the nascent Pure Food Movement, which lobbied for stricter regulations on food producers. ( The movement was unsuccessful before Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published in 1906.)  Baker became obsessed with hygienic farming.  In 1875, he held a big party, with 2,500 attendees, to launch his “Sanitary Piggery,” a new kind of hog farm featuring ultra-clean housing and controlled diets.  Because Baker was a man of many causes, the get-together also celebrated the centennial of the battle at Bunker Hill, and, through the invitation of Southern guests, advocated reconciliation of North and South. “ This map, which focused on the porcine aspect of the party, was a souvenir for his guests.” ( Rebecca Onion, “An Eccentric Millionaire’s 1875 Pork Map of the United States,” http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault)

The souvenir seems must have been a hit, as Emerson went on to issue a variant edition for sale to benefit charitable causes.  This variant, of which the present map is an example, features different typography and can be readily identified by the addition of a note in the lower margin:

“Yielding to numerous requests, the Author has decided to publish this as a good-cheer offering to all.  Gains from its sale will be devoted entirely to charity.-Recognised organizations in different States, desiring its sale in aid of Centennial or other charity, may address “Aquarium, 13 West street, Boston, Mass. Copyright secured. “ Compliments of the Author.” 

References

OCLC locates five institutional holdings (Harvard, Library of Congress, Massachusetts Historical Society, Ohio State, Peabody Essex Museum.)  I know of at least four examples in three private collections unfortunately none of the owners are selling.