MOTCO Image Database

If there is no index on the left-hand side of this display, then click here. (This is sometimes necessary if you arrive here from a search engine link.)

INDEX

1. Introduction and About the Map click

2. Article by Ralph Hyde click

3. To Access the Map click

4. Source of Images and Copyright click

ABOUT THE MAP

See also the article by Ralph Hyde click

Edward Stanford's 24 plate 6 inch to the mile Library Map of London & Its Suburbs was first published in 1862, the year of the International Exhibition, the site of which was on the Cromwell Road. This example is of that first edition. It was published as individual sheets in a portfolio with an overview index map.

This map is item No. 91 (1) as catalogued by Ralph Hyde in Printed Maps of Victorian London 1851-1900 .

The map was updated and Ralph Hyde records 21 editions, the last c.1901.

The size of the map section on each sheet is 12 by 15 1/4 inches. The plates on which it was engraved were steel. The detail within these plates is quite remarkable. The colour was hand applied water-colour and varied depending on the requirements of the intended or actual recipient of the map. This particular map highlights the parks and other open spaces, main roads and railway stations.

At the International Exhibition itself Stanford was awarded a medal for "for the merit of his geographical publications", the jury declaring that "in the English department no maps exceed for beauty and accuracy those contributed by Mr Stanford". (Ralph Hyde)

Stanford's most important map of the period c1860 was his Library Map of London and Its Suburbs. No thorough-going survey of the Metropolis has been carried out since Greenwood's in 1824-6. A team of surveyors was employed and the results plotted on the Ordnance Survey 12 inch skeleton plans, redrawn on the 6 inch scale and then engraved on the steel plates.

The whole map measuring 5 x 6 feet could be purchased in plain sheets in a portfolio for £1.1.0, or coloured for £1.11.6, or coloured and mounted on canvas with rollers and varnished for £2.5.0. Alternatively it could be bought folded in four sheets in a morocco case for £2.5.0, or mounted on spring rollers for £5.5.0. Single sheets were one shilling each plain, or one shilling and six pence coloured. (Ralph Hyde)

The page layout is the same for all sheets with the title and sheet reference in the top border, the scale and publication reference in the bottom border. There is a standard reference top left and the relationship with adjoining sheets is shown top right.

TO ACCESS THE MAP

Note: The file sizes required for high quality screen presentation of maps and detailed prospects and panoramas are large and may take over a minute to download.

The original map comprises 24 pages or sheets, which do not overlap. For the purpose of indexing and screen display the map is divided into 864 large scale segments, 24 horizontally and 36 vertically. The current segmentation is to keep the size of the files for the segments containing a lot of detail to less than 500k.

The map may be accessed in two ways, either using the index of place names or by clicking on an overview image of the whole map.

Index of Names

The version of the index on this website is an early 'work in progress' version of 5,000 names ending in Road or Street only. A final edited version of the full index of more than 18,000 names, with improved navigation is only available on CD.

The index of names the named locations as they appear on the map. You can scroll down the index with the scroll bar, or click on the index and then use the Page Up/Down and Home keys or the Up/Down Arrows or the Edit-Search function for a particular name.

Clicking on a name in the index will access the (large scale) segment of the map containing that location. You can then move to adjacent segments by clicking on the North, South, East and West links. The pages of the map do not overlap and a segment at the edge of a page will not overlap with the adjacent segment on the next page, however within a page there is some overlap between the segments. You can move the images either using the scroll bars, or click on the image and then use the Page Up/Down and Home keys or the Up/Down and Left/Right Arrows.

The images of the (864) large scale segments will appear in this window. There is a link to an overview image of the page of the map containing that segment. If you click on the link the page overview image appears in a second widow called "PAGE OVERVIEW". You can refer back to this as necessary, but need to close it when no longer required. If you access another page overview it will overwrite the previous one in the "PAGE OVERVIEW" window. If you click on the page overview image you will select the large scale segment containing that location, which will appear in the main window with the index on the left.

Overview Map

There are two overviews of the complete map. These appear in a third window called "MAP OVERVIEW". The first overview map is linked to overview images of the 32 pages of the map. If you click on this overview map the overview of that page of the map will appear in the "PAGE OVERVIEW" window referred to above. Clicking on the map page overview image will access the large scale map segment, containing that location. The large scale map segments appear in this window.

There is a second larger map overview which is linked directly to the large scale map segments Clicking on this overview map will access directly the large scale map segment containing that location. The large scale segment will appear in this window. The overview of the whole map remains in the "MAP OVERVIEW" window until you close it.

SOURCE OF IMAGES AND COPYRIGHT

The images were photographed digitally from an original map in the Motco collection.

The copyright of the (digital) images is owned by Motco. They may only be copied for personal use, which specifically excludes use on a website. If you require access to the images for commercial or other use, in hard copy or digital form, please contact Motco.

___________________________