Philips Radio G.M. Oord Haarlem Circa 1935

A dazzling fusion of cartography, commercial ambition, and visual storytelling, this circa 1935 original poster by Walter Eckhard serves as a remarkable artifact of early globalism — powered by the invisible force of radio waves.

Published by G.M. Oord in Haarlem, the poster was commissioned by Philips Radio, one of the world’s foremost innovators in broadcast technology. At a time when radio was revolutionizing communication, collapsing distances, and reshaping modern identity, this world map rendered the ethereal suddenly tangible. It visualized the reach of a signal — not just over land and sea, but through culture, commerce, and imagination.

The map's layout is immediately arresting. Framed in deep maritime blue and annotated in Latin — Oceanus Pacificus, Oceanus Atlanticus, Oceanus Indicus — it mimics the grand navigational charts of the Age of Exploration. But instead of routes of galleons and caravels, the red dots punctuating the globe indicate Philips radio transmission sites, a modern web of connectivity stretching across continents.

The surface of the continents themselves is adorned with illustrations of fauna, flora, and cultural vignettes — giraffes in Africa, pagodas in East Asia, North American buffalo, and classical European cities — reminding viewers not just of radio's technical capability, but of its power to carry voice, music, and story across an incredibly diverse planet.

In the upper right, a secondary inset map reinforces the point: the Philips global network is no longer a dream but an operational reality. Below, a series of ornate panels list major relay points and broadcasting frequencies — a nod to the precision and complexity behind the scenes of every broadcast.

This is not just a map; it's a manifesto in ink and paper. It embodies the 1930s optimism in science and internationalism — an era before the shadow of war, when technology was still widely believed to be the key to peace and mutual understanding. And in this context, Philips positioned itself not just as a producer of consumer goods, but as a global communicator, bridging divides through invisible waves.

Today, this poster stands as a richly layered visual time capsule — part map, part corporate branding, part utopian vision. In the golden age of radio, Walter Eckhard gave form to the formless, transforming electromagnetic energy into a geography of hope, curiosity, and global connection.

Electronic - Card - Advertising

Good condition, creases, pinholes