BECK, Henry ‘Harry’ Charles (1902-1974) - photo 1

BECK, Henry ‘Harry’ Charles (1902-1974)

Lot 170
13.12.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 12 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1105682
Lot 170 | BECK, Henry ‘Harry’ Charles (1902-1974)
Estimate value
£ 12 000 – 18 000
BECK, Henry ‘Harry’ Charles (1902-1974)

London Underground Transport. London: Waterlow & Sons for London Transport, 1935.

A rare early poster of Harry Beck's iconic London Underground map. Beck was an electrical draughtsman and produced his wonderfully simple map based on a circuit diagram. By eliminating any geography, and the adoption of strict verticals, horizontals and diagonals, Beck's great innovation was to dramatically distort the central London area to allow for easy interpretation, while condensing the outer suburban areas to give the sense of easy commutability. Beck's first draft was initially rejected by the Underground Group, but was later taken up with enthusiasm in 1933, when 750,000 copies of the pocket-sized card folder edition were ordered. Besides the radical schematic look, this first edition had two key differences from the maps that proceeded it: the interchange stations were now diamonds rather than circles, and the standard stations changed to 'ticks' rather than 'blobs'. In the present lot, the 'ticks have been retained (and remain to this day), while the interchanges have reverted back to circles. This edition of the map is the only one to carry a north pointer, an innovation that was quickly dropped, but the stylized Thames remains to this day, despite constant reprinting and revision. Ken Garland, Mr Beck's Underground Map (1994), p.24.



Chromolithographic map within blue frame, London Underground Transport roundel to bottom right, key within frame to lower left, note regarding ‘Escalator connection between Bank and Monument Stations’ in white on red background, stylized River Thames printed in 7 narrow blue lines, north pointer to top-right, 600 x 750mm (area to mount), framed (785 x 930mm).

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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