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Poster Map of the London Underground

Poster
1909 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Johnson, Riddle and Co. Ltd. (printer and publisher)
Place of origin
UK (printed and published)

The first map of the London Underground Railway network to combine lines run by several companies was published in 1907. This version follows the style of the 1908 issue with its attractive 'tiled' logo. The map is more geographically accurate than Henry Beck's famous scheme (see original design, E.814-1979 and two printed versions, E.815, 816-1979), but even so, this has been modified to improve its legibility by flattening the Metropolitan line to accommodate the text box.

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view Mapping the imagination Maps are simplified schematic diagrams that employ a universal visual language through which we codify and comprehend our world. We all use maps in our daily lives as sources of information about places, routes, networks, and boundaries. They offer us the means of describing and understand...

Object details

Categories
Prints
Transport
Posters
Maps
Object type
Poster
TitlePoster Map of the London Underground (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph on paper
Brief description
Poster map showing the London Underground Railways; United Kingdom, ca.1909
Physical description
A poster map showing the London Underground Railway network.
Dimensions
  • Mounted height: 55.5cm
  • Mounted width: 82cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • LONDON UNDERGROUND RAILWAYS (across top; UNDERGROUND is set as 'tiles')
  • JOHNSON, RIDDLE & Co. Ltd. LONDON. S.E. (bottom centre)
  • REFERENCE (title of reference showing names of lines, top left of image)
Gallery label
(2007)
The first map of the London Underground Railway network to combine lines run by several companies was published in 1907. This version follows the style of the 1908 issue with its attractive 'tiled' logo. The map seems geographically accurate when compared to Henry Beck's scheme (see original design, E.814-1979 and two printed versions, E.815-816-1979), but in fact the Metropolitan line has been flattened to accommodate the text box.
Subjects depicted
Map
Railway
Place depicted
London
Summary
The first map of the London Underground Railway network to combine lines run by several companies was published in 1907. This version follows the style of the 1908 issue with its attractive 'tiled' logo. The map is more geographically accurate than Henry Beck's famous scheme (see original design, E.814-1979 and two printed versions, E.815, 816-1979), but even so, this has been modified to improve its legibility by flattening the Metropolitan line to accommodate the text box.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.721-1993

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Record createdAugust 23, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138694/poster-map-of-the-london-poster-johnson-riddle-and/
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