London Transport Underground. Map of London.

A detailed map of Central London, based on the Ordnance Survey, overprinted with the routes of the Underground lines. Underground lines shown are Bakerloo, Central Line, District, Piccadilly, Morden and Edgware, Northern and Metropolitan. These maps were designed as posters for display in London Underground stations.

The first edition of this map was printed in 1932. The lines themselves, though colour-coded, are given minimal prominence so as not to disrupt the street plan. The red discs denoting stations are in the style of the earliest roundels, introduced in 1908 and superseded by the modern bar and circle bullseye in 1917. In the context of this map, even in minute form, they prove a highly effective means of drawing the eye to the stations without intruding greatly on the surrounding cartography. The map was printed under licence from G.W. Bacon & Co, Ltd, a firm noted for its large-scale mapping of London, whether in the form of folding maps or the detailed Atlases of London and Suburbs published from the 1880s onwards.

Colour-printed lithograph map, folds flattened and laid on linen with some minor repairs. Image size: 100 cm x 125 cm.