CDs by Mail Order - Maps of London late 19th Century

Maps of London late 19th Century.

Price £6.00 (GBP 6.00) plus £1.00 (GBP 1) postage & packing (first class within the UK and by air mail to customers outside the UK).

The Circa 1883 map was originally published as Bacon's Gem Pocket Map of London & Suburbs and folded up into a hard back measuring about 2 inches by 3.5 inches. The scale of the original is about 1.5 inches to the mile, the map being divided into mile squares "for calculating Cab fares". Coverage is from Hampstead in the north west and Putney in the south west to Stratford in the north east and Blackheath in the south east. The original was accompanied by a Visitor's Guide, List of Sights, New Streets and Railways but this is missing from the copy we obtained. The map is just able to be scanned on an A3 scanner but is a little distorted because of the hard back. It has, therefore, also been scanned in left and right sections which have subsequently been stitched together. All four scans are included on the CD. It has been dated using the underground railways - it shows the line from Aldgate to the Tower (opened 25 September 1882) but the line from Mansion House to Mark Lane (opened 6 October 1884) is shown dotted, as if under construction.

The 1894 map is the Extended Tape Indicator Map of London published by C. Smith & Son. The original bears that date (which can partially be seen at the foot of the 7th scanned tile). The scale of the original is about 3.5 inches to the mile, the map being divided into quarter mile squares. Coverage is from Willesden in the north west and Putney in the south west to Victoria Park in the north east and Nunhead in the south east. The map is scanned as 8 overlapping tiles. It was also originally accompanied by a Visitor Guide which is missing from the copy which we obtained.

From 1897 are 14 of the original 16 sectional maps published as part of the ABC Guide to London 1897-8, apparently by Chas. Baker & Co. The original publication contained a Pictorial Plan of Central London and a Large Coloured Map of the Environs, both of which have failed to survive. Coverage is roughly from Regents Park & Hackney in the north to Battersea & the Isle of Dogs in the south and from Kensington in the west to Limehouse in the east. The central sections (7, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14) are at a larger scale than the outer sections (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 & 15) but the original scales are not shown. The publication also contains 20 illustration pages, 61 information pages, 32 pages of advertisements for Chas. Baker & Co. and 13 pages of general advertisements.

Last updated: 20 April 2006