“Clearview City Directory Map (of) Sudbury, Ont.” print by Vernon-Might (1931)

The Vernon-Might collaboration that made the "Clearview" map series might sound like a dynamic duo, but the reality is less romantic: it was a collaboration between two city directory companies (think: early telephone book publishers). Might Directories was based in Toronto at 76 Church Street, and Vernon Directories occupied the Lister Block in Hamilton. Together, they made scores of maps like this over several decades, each of them bound to a (sometimes colossally thick) book of addresses and phone numbers. Here is an example of Might's 1936 Toronto directory. 

The Vernon-Might team used a fairly tight template during the 1930s, and you can see more than a few of them in the Paper Cities collection. Each map was generally square, printed in monotone B&W, and decorated with an attractive nameplate and hand-written text throughout. Some of them included the signature of some kind of local official like a civil engineer or planner, to lend credibility to the map's accuracy. In this Sudbury map's case, they didn't take that step.

Lastly, the maps were usually framed by as many local ads as Vernon-Might could sell. Some were squeezed into the map itself, taking advantage of the layout possibilities offered by a city's unique geography. Most framed the map, like the squares on a Monopoly board. And those local ads absolutely shine in Sudbury. A.A. Jackson's Ambulance and Funeral Service at 120 Durham, "Mr. Business Man," and "Senior the Plumber" at 139 Kathleen Street are all begging for CBC sitcom treatment.

A reproduction available at 12x12" or 24x24" on Epson Enhanced Matte 192 gsm paper printed with Epson UltraChrome XD2 archival ink. Sold in an open edition, unframed. Based on this original public domain image held by Library & Archives Canada.