A section from Charles Booth's iconic Poverty Map of London covering Greenwich, Blackheath, Deptford, Brockley, Lewisham, and New Cross. Each street is coloured according to the wealth of its residents from 'Wealthy' (yellow) to 'Lowest Class' (black). A key to the different colour categories is included with the map.



Charles Booth's, "Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London" is the only survey from this period for which the original notes and data have survived and therefore provides a unique insight into the development of the methodology and philosophy of social investigation within the UK.



Charles Booth believed that social reformers had exaggerated London's poverty levels, claiming that a quarter of London's population lived in unacceptable conditions. His research revealed the reality was even worse. Using a colour code, that can be seen at the bottom of the map, the levels of poverty of each individual street in London is displayed in an entirely novel way.



The base-mapping is Edward Stanford's Library Map of London, first published in 1862 but regularly updated to reflect the changing face of the city, an obvious choice given that Stanford's also printed the Booth maps.



Printed colour. [LDN6326]