When was this map made?

May 17, 2017 9:07 AM

When was this map made?
posted by schmod to Society & Culture (14 answers total)

Superrelevant XKCD!
posted by Perplexity at 9:11 AM on May 17, 2017 [13 favorites]

Well, the USSR was formed in late 1922, and Persia became Iran in 1935, so that gives you a window to start from.

The style says 30s more than 20s to me, although I can't put a finger on why.
posted by Kriesa at 9:13 AM on May 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

Probably between around 1922 (when the USSR began to use that name) and 1935 (when Persia transitioned to using Iran which is the earliest one I can find on there.)
posted by griphus at 9:14 AM on May 17, 2017

Manchuria was only an independent starting from 1931, so I think we have it narrowed down to 1931-1935
posted by 256 at 9:15 AM on May 17, 2017

Using the xkcd flowchart I got 1930-1934, which accords with what other people are saying so far.
posted by crazy with stars at 9:18 AM on May 17, 2017

I got the same results as crazy with stars with the flowchart. In detail:

Istanbul or Constantinople? Istanbul
Does the Soviet Union exist? Yes
Is most of West Africa a giant French blob? Yes
Pakistan? No
How many Germanys are there? One
Persia or Iran? Persia --> 1930-34
posted by andrewesque at 9:21 AM on May 17, 2017

Best answer: Actually, looking a little more closely at the dates: Manchuria officially became independent in February 1932 and Persia officially became Iran in December 1934 (though international recognition of the new name didn't start until 1935).
posted by 256 at 9:22 AM on May 17, 2017

Does "Arabia" instead of Saudi Arabia lock it in as 1932?
posted by peppercorn at 9:27 AM on May 17, 2017 [4 favorites]

This may help. http://www.replogleglobes.com/howOldIsYourGlobe.php
posted by PJMoore at 9:29 AM on May 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

OH! And if it was made between November 1933 and April 1934, it would have included the ETR.
posted by 256 at 9:30 AM on May 17, 2017

Does "Arabia" instead of Saudi Arabia lock it in as 1932?

Yep, specifically between February (Manchuria starts existing) and September (Saudi Arabia starts existing) of 1932.
posted by 256 at 9:37 AM on May 17, 2017 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: North Australia and Central Australia are (barely) shown as being separate on the map, which would have only been true from 1927-1931 (unless, given that this is a Philatelic map, the postal systems took longer to merge, and the defunct states continued to issue postage for some time after 1932).
posted by schmod at 10:27 AM on May 17, 2017

Best answer: It's true that, in fact, there may never have been a time when this map was accurate. We can probably say 1932 is the earliest because otherwise including Manchuria would have required precognition. But it's hard to say when the latest possible date is because the mapmaker may just have dropped the ball or not gotten the memo regarding Saudi Arabia, Iran, or the Australias.

It must have been a very frustrating time to be a mapmaker with the very high likelihood of your map being obsolete before the ink is dry. But then, Im not sure there has ever been a non-frustrating time to be a mapmaker.
posted by 256 at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2017 [9 favorites]

Finland has no Arctic coast which didn't happen until 1944. Germany's borders are 1919-1938. It's odd to see Algeria lumped with the rest of French Africa. Arabia seems to encompass the Sinai. I think it's a bad map. Mr. Ptak over here would probably love to see this and tell you something about it.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:58 AM on May 18, 2017