Mapping the Tube: 1863-2023

The Map House's new exhibition "Mapping the Tube: 1863-2023" explores the evolution of London’s Tube system and the iconic London Underground map over 160 years.

The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see and purchase hand-drawn and annotated manuscripts by Harry Beck. Highlights include: a one-of-a-kind draft copy of Harry Beck’s first Underground map, annotated by Beck and his predecessor Fred Stingemore, which highlights some of the tricky design questions he had to overcome; the resulting exceedingly rare 1st Edition Underground Poster (1933), of which only 5 copies of the original 2,000 are known; and a unique, unfinished sketch from 1950 drawn in coloured pencil showing a proposed new layout for the District Line branch to Richmond.