Where Fairy Tales Meet: Exploring Jaro Hess’s "Land of Make-Believe"

Jaro Hess’s The Land of Make-Believe, first published in 1930, is one of the most imaginative pictorial maps ever created. It gathers dozens of familiar fairy tales and nursery rhymes into a single enchanted landscape, where every hill, forest, and castle belongs to a story. Originally printed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the map invites viewers to wander through a place where childhood tales come to life side by side.

Hess was born in Prague in 1889 and later settled in the United States. Before turning to art, he worked as an engineer and horticulturist—skills that shaped his careful, detailed drawing style. His map blends structure and fantasy: Jack climbs his beanstalk near the cow that jumped over the moon, Little Miss Muffet hides under a tree, and Goldilocks stands at the door of the bears’ cottage.

Amid the playfulness, Hess included shadows of the original stories. The blackbird that pecks the maid’s nose, Jack and Jill tumbling down the hill, and the Pied Piper leading children away all appear, hinting that even in make-believe, danger and mystery linger close by. A winding road curves across the map, looping endlessly through this imagined world—a symbol of the journeys that stories take us on.

Hess also looked beyond English fairy tales, adding touches of Eastern European folklore like The Glass Mountain and the fisherman with the golden fish. Later reprints changed a few labels to fit modern sensibilities, but the spirit of the map remains the same: a playful escape into timeless tales.

Nearly a century later, The Land of Make-Believe still delights map lovers, collectors, and dreamers alike. It’s a reminder that imagination can turn even the darkest times—like the Great Depression when it was made—into something bright, curious, and full of wonder.