By the 1920s, thanks in part to a determined publicity drive, the Underground’s reputation had improved and was starting to become the public’s preferred way to reach large, public events, such as sporting matches or International Exhibitions. To celebrate and advertise the British Empire Exhibition of 1924, Thomas Cook, the travel agency, commissioned a souvenir folding map of the Exhibition Grounds from artist Kennedy S. North.

The visual centre of the map is the large, pictorial depiction of the exhibition grounds. The fonts, colouring, and illustrations are a clever imitation of Max Gill’s ‘Wonderground Map of London’, which had so captured the public imagination when it was displayed in Underground stations. The strapwork cartouches and the elaborate title, meanwhile, are homages to 17th and 18th century mapmakers. The text within these cartouches stresses how easily the Empire Exhibition could be reached via London’s railways. The lower-left corner explains that the exhibition could be accessed from 126 stations in the London area with an average travel time of just 18 minutes. Journeys from 120 of those stations did not even require a change of train! Trams, buses, and taxis are mentioned on the map as well, but only as an afterthought.

For transport enthusiasts, this map’s most interesting feature is its creative and never-before-seen depiction of the Underground network. The inner circle (later to become the Circle Line) forms the centre of this unique diagram surrounding the “Heart of the Empire”, a silhouette of Trafalgar Square and other London landmarks.

The outer branches of the network spiral away from the centre towards the east and west, with the western branches of each line terminating at the exhibition grounds. The Metropolitan line is drawn in pink, the District Line is in dark blue, the North London Railway (not part of the Underground system at the time) is in black, and the Piccadilly, Bakerloo, and Northern Lines are in green. The diagram does not accurately show lines which are served by two different companies, nor does it use the hollow circles found on Max Gill’s system maps to show interchange stations.

Though it may not be the most practical map to travel by, it is certainly one of the most creative and unusual depictions of the Underground network ever published. Crucially, it marks the earliest known attempt to portray the inner circle as an actual circle. Decades later, Harry Beck, creator of the modern schematic Tube Map, would once again attempt to circularize the Circle Line, but not even he could create a useable design centred on a circle.

Printed colour. [LDN4985]