Tourist Map of Bombay

C.1960S–70S

Offset print on paper

31.5 x 21.75 in (80 x 55 cm)

BOMBAY IN ORANGE AND BLUE: A COMMERCIAL ROAD MAP WITH STREET DIRECTORY, C.1960S–70S

Colour-printed folding map of Bombay, lithographed on paper, mounted with wide yellow borders. Approximate size: 80 × 55 cm unfolded. The map shows the island city of Bombay in a bold orange, blue, and white graphic design, with major roads, railway lines, parks, and docks clearly delineated.

The lower half of the sheet carries an extensive alphabetical street and locality index printed in three dense columns, enabling quick cross-reference with the map. Civic landmarks, transport routes, and suburban extensions are also noted.

This map was a commercially issued street map intended for household, business, and tourist use during the decades of Bombay’s post-Independence urban expansion. Unlike Survey of India charts, such commercial maps were ephemeral in nature, cheaply produced for ready reference, and frequently updated—making surviving examples comparatively scarce today.

The striking modernist design, with its bright orange landmass against blue seas, reflects the visual language of the 1960s–70s. The prominent alphabetical street index further illustrates how the city’s geography was being marketed to an increasingly mobile population, including new migrants, motorists, and visitors.

Such maps now serve as vivid records of Bombay’s mid-twentieth-century identity — capturing its road systems, suburban growth, and civic landmarks at a time when the city was consolidating its role as India’s commercial capital.

This lot is offered at NO RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each lot.