W.J. Adams & Sons
The Improved "District Railway" Map of London - 2nd Edition, 1880
25 ½ x 41 ½ in
65 x 105 cm
65 x 105 cm
LDN6947
This folding railway map of London is one of the earliest known Underground maps and one of the first to be published under the 'District Railway' brand. It was issued...
This folding railway map of London is one of the earliest known Underground maps and one of the first to be published under the 'District Railway' brand. It was issued within a decade of the opening of the District Line and within 20 years of London's first Underground service. In this early period, each Underground line was operated by a separate company with its own branding, promotional materials, and tracks. This map shows all of the routes operated by the District Railway in bright red, whilst lines controlled by other companies are in dark blue.
The Metropolitan District Railway, London's second underground railway company, was founded in 1864 to construct a new underground line between Mansion House and South Kensington. The railway took seven years to fund and build, finally opening in 1871. This map shows how rapidly the District Line expanded within its first decade. Extensions to Hammersmith opened in 1874, to Ealing in 1879, and to Putney Bridge in 1880. A track sharing agreement with the Metropolitan Railway, nominally a sister company to the District Railway but more often in competition, allowed trains to run along a circular route from Mansion House to Aldgate via west London, and back. This map shows an authorized eastward extension to connect Mansion House, Aldgate, and Whitechapel and thereby complete the circular line, but this would not be completed until 1884 due to squabbling between the District and Metropolitan Railways over funding and ownership of the extension.
Confusingly, the District Railway have chosen to highlight an omnibus route to Barnes in the same red colour as their railway lines on this map with only a slightly different icon to tell the reader that this is not a train line. This sort of inconsistency in design and layout are emblematic of the difficulties faced by customers navigating the early Underground railways. In order to travel from one side of London to the other, customers might have to purchase multiple tickets from several different companies and were often required to make confusing transfers at interchange stations. Each company promoted its own railways above those of its rivals and would encourage customers to make longer, slower journeys via their own line instead of a more direct route via a competitor's.
The First edition of this map was published in 1874, though under a slightly different title: 'The "District Railway" Map of London". Seven editions of this "improved" District Railway Map of London were published from 1879 to 1907, including a commemorative Jubilee Edition in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The map series was discontinued in 1908 when the District Railway was amalgamated into a new umbrella company, the UERL (Underground Electric Railways Company of London). The UERL's revolutionary 1908 pocket map showed all of the lines as a unified network for the first time - a critical step towards the Underground map we know today.
Printed colour. Folded. [LDN6947]
The Metropolitan District Railway, London's second underground railway company, was founded in 1864 to construct a new underground line between Mansion House and South Kensington. The railway took seven years to fund and build, finally opening in 1871. This map shows how rapidly the District Line expanded within its first decade. Extensions to Hammersmith opened in 1874, to Ealing in 1879, and to Putney Bridge in 1880. A track sharing agreement with the Metropolitan Railway, nominally a sister company to the District Railway but more often in competition, allowed trains to run along a circular route from Mansion House to Aldgate via west London, and back. This map shows an authorized eastward extension to connect Mansion House, Aldgate, and Whitechapel and thereby complete the circular line, but this would not be completed until 1884 due to squabbling between the District and Metropolitan Railways over funding and ownership of the extension.
Confusingly, the District Railway have chosen to highlight an omnibus route to Barnes in the same red colour as their railway lines on this map with only a slightly different icon to tell the reader that this is not a train line. This sort of inconsistency in design and layout are emblematic of the difficulties faced by customers navigating the early Underground railways. In order to travel from one side of London to the other, customers might have to purchase multiple tickets from several different companies and were often required to make confusing transfers at interchange stations. Each company promoted its own railways above those of its rivals and would encourage customers to make longer, slower journeys via their own line instead of a more direct route via a competitor's.
The First edition of this map was published in 1874, though under a slightly different title: 'The "District Railway" Map of London". Seven editions of this "improved" District Railway Map of London were published from 1879 to 1907, including a commemorative Jubilee Edition in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The map series was discontinued in 1908 when the District Railway was amalgamated into a new umbrella company, the UERL (Underground Electric Railways Company of London). The UERL's revolutionary 1908 pocket map showed all of the lines as a unified network for the first time - a critical step towards the Underground map we know today.
Printed colour. Folded. [LDN6947]
