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Washington–Idaho–Montana Aviation Map (Front)

Washington / Idaho / Montana

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Background

The front cover of a Tide Water Associated Oil Company road map for Washington, Idaho, and Montana, featuring a full-color illustration of a couple in a late-1940s green convertible passing a roadside Flying A Ethyl billboard.

Tide Water Associated Oil Company was created in 1936 when Tide Water Oil and Associated Oil Company formally merged, combining an East Coast petroleum operation with Associated's long-established West Coast network. The company marketed gasoline under three regional names — Flying A in the West, Tydol in the Northeast, Associated in California — before consolidating everything under Flying A in the mid-1950s. In 1956 the corporate name changed to Tidewater Oil Company, which means any map bearing the "Tide Water Associated" name dates to the twenty-year window between the merger and that renaming.

The Flying A logo was a capital A with outstretched wings — hence the name. Flying A Ethyl was the higher-octane leaded grade (Ethyl being a trade name for the tetraethyllead additive that boosted octane ratings in postwar American cars). The text panel at lower right lists the full dealer offering: Flying A Ethyl and regular gasoline, Veedol and Tydol motor oils, Veedol Safety-Check lubrication service (a multipoint inspection sold at the pump), Federal tires and tubes, and general auto supplies. Both Veedol and Tydol are now extinct brand names; Federal Tires, once a significant American manufacturer, was absorbed into competitors by the 1980s.

The cover illustration is a textbook example of postwar American roadtrip idealism: open convertible, mountain backdrop, a lake-ringed town visible in the distance, the woman in a floral dress and yellow hat, the man in a fedora. The car's rounded, low-slung body places it stylistically in the late 1940s. The cartoon mascot at lower left — a cheerful round face in a bow tie, styled as a service-station attendant — anchors the call-to-action slogan "Let's Get Associated," which Tide Water used across its promotional materials throughout the era.

Researched with claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 on May 24, 2026. AI-assisted — verify before citing.

Highlights

  • "TIDE WATER ASSOCIATED OIL COMPANY" runs in small white capitals across the top of the red header band — the full legal corporate name, used only between 1936 and 1956, which provides the outer date range for this piece.
  • The Flying A Ethyl billboard within the illustration carries the tagline "SMOOTH CHIEF POWERFUL" — a three-word slogan used for the premium leaded gasoline grade.
  • The woman passenger wears a bright yellow hat and a floral-print dress; the driver wears a tan fedora — leisure attire consistent with late-1940s American fashion and useful for narrowing the illustration's date.
  • The "FLYING A DEALERS WELCOME YOU" text box at lower right names Veedol, Tydol, and Federal Tires alongside the gasoline — three brands that have since disappeared entirely from the American market.
  • The cartoon mascot at lower left — a round-faced attendant in a bow tie — sits beside the "Let's Get Associated" slogan; this character appeared on Tide Water promotional materials across the period.
  • A scenic background behind the car depicts a lakeside town ringed by evergreens and hills — a stylized Pacific Northwest landscape that doubles as a destination advertisement.

Further reading