Laura L. Whitlock

Laura L. Whitlock.

Laura L. Whitlock (* 1862 in Iowa ; † 1934 in Inglewood ) was an American cartographer and entrepreneur. She was the first woman to make cards for the mass market. A copyright battle she has brought over a map of Los Angeles sets the precedent for map copyright in the United States .

Life

Laura L. Whitlock was a trained music teacher. In 1895 she moved to Los Angeles with her mother. Initially she continued to work as a music teacher and worked in a flower shop on the side, soon offering guided tours through newspaper advertisements. In 1903 she opened a travel agency in downtown Los Angeles . She also advertised this in newspapers.

In 1910 she first published The Official Transportation and City Map , a detailed map of what was then Los Angeles, including a representation of the public transport network. By 1919, the map had reached its sixth edition. The map was so successful that it was copied and 20,000 copies of the copies were sold by the Los Angeles Map and Address Company . She filed a civil action against this in federal court in Los Angeles. It was the first lawsuit for the intellectual property of maps . After three years in court, she prevailed and was awarded $ 20,000.

Web links

Commons : Laura L. Whitlock  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Lily Allen, Mapping a City on the Move , Hunntington Library