Collins' Standard Map of London.

Lithograph, in original outline colour, 765 x 830mm, dissected and mounted on linen, folding into the original cloth boards, with the original end-paper describing 'Public Conveyances', lacking the upper board with title label. London : Edward Stanford,

Famous map of London, drawn by Richard Jarman in 1858, at a scale of four inches to one statute mile, and originally published by Henry George Collins. When that business failed, the printing plates were acquired by Edward Stanford, one of the two largest mapsellers and publishers in London of the period, the firm still in business today.

 

This was Stanford's principal map of London, covering the region from Hampstead Heath south to the northern bounds of Clapham Common, and from Notting Hill over to the western extent of the Isle of Dogs; the map was much reprinted by them, almost on an annual basis, revised, corrected and improved as the face of London dramatically changed in the late Victorian period, notably with the rapid expansion of the train and Underground network and the many building projects of the period.

 

This is a comparatively late printing of the map, issued in about 1888. This printing inserts the Charing Cross Road, built as part of the redevelopment of the West End, with Shaftesbury Avenue, another recent reconstruction, also present. However, this printing predates the construction of Tower Bridge. It gives a good overview of London towards the end of the nineteenth century.

 

While printed in large numbers, individual printings of this map are actually quite scarce; designed as a travel guide, the wear and tear of handling and frequent reprintings meant that examples were readily discarded.

 

Hyde, Printed Maps of Victorian London, 56, B.(7): recording only one institutional location.

Stock Code: 223154