Titled "Arizona small state map," this 1946 work by Jacques Liozu distills the state’s vast character into a compact, artful tableau. Created in the buoyant aftermath of World War II, it captures a moment when Americans were rediscovering regional identity and the West beckoned travelers with promise and myth. Liozu delineates Arizona’s borders with California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Mexico, setting the stage for a narrative that is both geographic and cultural. The vintage palette, lively annotations, and a decorative cartouche featuring a poised cowboy announce a distinctly 1940s sensibility. Within this concise frame, Liozu’s hand brings coherence to deserts, mountains, and towns, transforming a state map into a richly illustrated portrait of place, memory, and mid-century aspiration.

Natural spectacle anchors the composition. The Grand Canyon commands pride of place, its chasms evoked with dramatic shading that hints at depth and immensity. To the east, the Petrified Forest is crisply marked, a jeweled precinct of stone-timber amid high desert. Across the Sonoran reaches, clusters of saguaro and other cacti species punctuate the terrain, emblematic totems that convey ecology as much as atmosphere. Liozu suggests the scaffolding of the land with the Gila Range and other uplifts, while major waterways—the Colorado delineating the western edge and the Gila threading the south—provide orientation and lifelines. The result is a landscape that reads at once as atlas and stage set, where geology and aridity are notated with painterly economy.

Industry and legend intermingle in Liozu’s Arizona. Mining is rendered with persuasive clarity: Globe and the adjoining Gila country rise as nodes of extraction, while the copper belt arcs southward toward Bisbee and its borderlands kin. Tombstone is inscribed not merely as a dot but as an idea—the Wild West distilled—its notoriety balanced by scenes of ranching and cowboy life that animate southern Arizona. Scattered depictions of Native American artifacts underscore an older, enduring presence, reminding viewers that the state’s cultural bedrock long predates boomtowns and claims. Liozu’s illustrated cues never drown the cartography; instead, they key the eye to histories layered in the soil—quarries, camps, corrals, and ceremonial traces—each vignette reinforcing the map’s narrative cadence.

Urban Arizona emerges with equal nuance. Phoenix appears as a growing capital entwined with fields and irrigation, a visual nod to the agricultural engines that powered its ascent. Tucson anchors the south, while the Salt River Valley’s constellation—Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, and Gilbert—signals a corridor of expansion already coalescing by mid-century. Yuma keeps watch on the western frontier, and to the north Flagstaff and Holbrook punctuate the high country’s gateway. Kingman, Globe, Douglas, and Bisbee round out a network of places defined by resource, climate, and crossroads. Liozu’s labeling, spacing, and emblematic illustrations lend a sense of movement between these centers, suggesting trade and travel without diagramming them, and preserving the map’s elegance as both guide and emblem.

Jacques Liozu was a virtuoso of illustrated cartography, and this Arizona composition exemplifies his blend of accuracy and allure. He fuses crisp geographic outlines with a pictorial language—miners at work, ranch hands, artifacts, a dashing cowboy in the cartouche—that makes the state legible and irresistible. The restrained yet sun-warmed palette, careful stippling, and rhythmic ornament echo 1940s thematic mapping at its best, when maps were invitations as much as instruments. As a document of the immediate postwar years, it reflects rising tourism, pride in state distinctiveness, and cross-border outlooks toward Mexico and the wider Southwest. For collectors of U.S. state maps and mid-century design, it offers both scholarship and charm: a compact, eloquent statement of Arizona’s identity.

Cities and towns on this map

• Phoenix
• Tucson
• Mesa
• Glendale
• Chandler
• Scottsdale
• Gilbert
• Tempe
• Yuma
• Flagstaff
• Kingman
• Holbrook
• Globe
• Bisbee
• Douglas
• Tombstone

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Grand Canyon: One of the most significant natural landmarks in Arizona, illustrated prominently.
• Various Cacti Species: Representing Arizona's unique desert flora.
• Phoenix: The capital city is depicted with surrounding agricultural elements.
• Tombstone: Notable for its historical significance in the Wild West.
• Petrified Forest: An important national park.
• Gila Range and Globe: Representing mining and resource areas.
• Flagstaff: Mentioned as a key location.
• Holbrook: Another city with historical relevance.
• Cooper Mining: Indicating mining activities in the region.
• Native American Artifacts: Representing indigenous heritage and culture.
• Southern Arizona Cultural Elements: Including ranching and cowboy illustrations.
• Aesthetic Elements: The decorative cartouche at the bottom features a cowboy, adding an artistic touch.

Historical and design context

• Year of creation: 1946, in the immediate post–World War II era.
• Mapmaker: Jacques Liozu, noted for blending accurate geography with illustrated, artistic elements.
• Vintage 1940s thematic design with colorful depictions of Native American culture, mining, and cowboy life.
• Focus and themes: Arizona landscapes, cultural aspects, key geographic features, and historical landmarks from a mid-20th-century perspective.
• Geographic scope: Entire state of Arizona with borders to California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Mexico.
• Historical significance: Reflects heightened postwar interest in state identity and tourism; valued by collectors of U.S. state maps and 1940s cartography.
• Compact plan/chart that captures the mid-century statewide layout and period cartographic detail.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 40in (100cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 5-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.