This pictorial map shows the Philippine archipelago inside a circular blue field, surrounded by nearby Asian and Pacific regions including China, Japan, Indo-China, Borneo, Java, Australia, and New Guinea. Manila is marked prominently, while the islands are decorated with figures, costumes, boats, palms, and regional details.
Created by Ruth Taylor White in 1930, the map presents the Philippines as “The Riviera of the Orient.” It was associated with the Manila Hotel and belongs to the tourism and pictorial map tradition of the American colonial period. The visual promotes the Philippines as exotic, connected, and culturally varied, while also reducing complex ethnic and regional identities into decorative tourist imagery. The legend notes distances from Manila and states that the Philippines had 7,083 islands, reinforcing Manila as the central point of travel and colonial administration.
This piece is part of the Maynila Archive, a curated collection of Philippine historical visuals preserved and made accessible as fine art prints.
Available as a fine art print
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