This exceedingly rare map of London's football grounds was published by Charrington Brewery for the 1930/1 season. It marks the locations of 13 London football clubs and Wembley Stadium with turquoise flags, and also identifies their closest Charrington pubs with pink flags. Among the named clubs are some of England's most prestigious, including Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, and West Ham, but also some lesser-known clubs, such as Clapton Orient (now Leyton Orient) and Charrington's own company football team, informally known as Toby FC after the brewery's Toby Bitter.


The map is illustrated in a whimsical caricature style reminiscent of Macdonald Gill's Wonderground Map of London. An astronomer in Greenwich is shown searching for new "shooting" stars, while Kew Gardens is labelled as the place "where young footballers get inspiration for club colours." Charrington's Mile End brewery, in use until 1975, is marked on the map as well. Charrington's remaining pubs were sold off in 2000, but some of the pubs listed on the map are still in operation, such as the King's Arms in Fulham and the Greyhound in Peckham, presenting an interesting opportunity for a historical pub crawl.



The back of the map provides a list of fixtures for each of the teams shown on the map, along with directions to the grounds, and a helpful suggestion of which Charrington pubs would be most convenient for a pre- or post-match pint. Dates are also given for each round of the Football Association Challenge Cup (the FA Cup) along with instructions to Wembley Stadium for the final on the 25th of April, 1931. 'The Arsenal' are listed as the current holders of the FA Cup.


We have found no institutional examples of this map and we have seen only a handful of auction records for any of the three known editions of this map in the last 20 years. Ephemeral maps of this sort are rare by their nature as most would have been discarded at the end of the football season. We know that this map was printed for at least three seasons (1930-31, 1931-32, and 1932-33), but there may have been others which have yet to be identified. There are only minor changes between the three editions, including the title cartouche, the list of teams, and the dates of the fixtures.


Printed colour. Framed. [LDN7328]