[STINGEMORE, Frederick Henry (1890-1954)]

Prix de départ
£ 6 000
Date de l'enchèreClassic
13.12.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Lieu de l'événement
Royaume-Uni, London
Archive
La vente aux enchères est terminée. Vous ne pouvez plus enchérir.
Archive
ID 1105566
Lot 169 | [STINGEMORE, Frederick Henry (1890-1954)]
[STINGEMORE, Frederick Henry (1890-1954)]

Underground map of London. London: Waterlow and Sons Limited, 26 August 1932.

Rare example of Stingemore's London Underground Map, published just a year before Henry Beck's iconic map was introduced. The London Underground has its origins in individual railway lines underwritten by various independent financiers, but by 1906, these independent transport companies were not performing very well, and finances were in a parlous state. The four main underground railways realized that co-operation was essential if they were going to continue in business, and by 1908 they published the first comprehensive 'London Electric Railways' network map to promote their joint interests. Some of these companies were aligned with those running mainline routes: for example, the Metropolitan Railway extended to the northwest over the Chilterns, where it linked to the North Western Railway at Verney Junction, and the District Railway ran their services all the way eastwards to Southend. It was not clear to the mapmakers whether these, and other similar lines, constituted an integral part of the Underground network, or not. Some of the earlier maps made the decision to truncate the lines, but it is interesting that in the present 24 x 30" poster-sized example, the map includes the District Railway's route eastward as far as Barking. The result that the central area is now so compressed that it is too small to really convey any detail. Stingemore, a draughtsman with the Underground Group, had already understood this problem, and had experimented from 1926 onwards with a more diagrammatic approach, by eliminating any topography and distorting the central area to allow more space for a less congested placement of station names. However, Stingemore never moved completely to the schemmatic solution invented by Beck. Nonetheless, the present map has some advantages: by keeping the topography, it allows the viewer an easier orientation, and the mainlines running overground are shown in a muted grey, so it possible to identify interchanges and connections. See Ken Garland, Mr Beck's Underground Map (1994), pp.9-13.



Chromolithographic map, within dark blue border, key to upper right within black frame with distinctive logotype Underground with large initial 'U' and final 'D', basic topography showing water features and open spaces printed in blue and green respectively, Underground lines printed in colours and with mainline routes printed in grey, 609 x 760mm, the whole mounted on modern linen (630 x 785mm).

Adresse de l'enchère CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
Royaume-Uni
Aperçu
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
10.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
11.12.2023 09:00 – 18:00
12.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Téléphone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
E-mail
Commission see on Website
Conditions d'utilisationConditions d'utilisation