The London Underground has been connecting Londoners and visitors alike for 160 years, being the first underground railway system in the world. Such prestige and history calls for an epic celebration, and luckily enough, The Map House will soon be hosting an insightful exhibition that showcases the network’s iconic design evolution.
The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see and purchase hand-drawn, annotated manuscripts by Harry Beck on the 50th anniversary of his death. Beck created the London Underground’s first-ever diagrammatic tube mapwhich is the design we still love and use to this day, continuing to inspire other transportation networks across the globe.
Mapping The Tube at The Map House
This upcoming exhibition, entitled Mapping the Tube, will showcase one of the most significant collections of Beck manuscripts, some of which will be available for sale. It will be a thought-out selection of Beck’s work, personally passed down by the man himself to his biographer Ken Garland.
Highlights include a one-of-a-kind draft copy of Harry Beck’s first Underground mapannotated by Beck and his predecessor Fred Stingemore. Beyond this, expect a plethora of other maps and artefacts that honour and celebrate the Underground’s fascinating history, including some famed posters.
Speaking of, you’ll be able to get up close and personal with anexceedingly rare 1st Edition Underground Poster from 1933, of which, only 5 copies of the original 2,000 are known to exist. So, you’re in for an absolute treat if you’re interested in TfL and our legendary metro system.
Since Beck’s renowned design didn’t come to fruition until 1933, you can also expect an awesome selection of predecessors, as well as concept plans for government proposalsincluding The Improved District Railway Map of London (1880), which is one of the earliest Underground maps issued to the public.
Exhibition Curator at The Map House, Charles Roberts says: “The survival of many of the materials we have on display is remarkable. These maps were largely distributed for free as a tool for the public.”
“They were not intended to be saved but here they are, providing us with a unique insight into London’s history.”
Mapping the Tube: 1863-2023 will be on display from 25 October until 30 November. The exhibition is free and is open to the public during The Map House’s regular opening hours. For more information on the exhibition, click here to visit The Map House website.
📍 You can find the Map House in Knightsbridge at 54 Beauchamp Pl, London SW3 1NY.
