Maps of London
March 11th 2008 02:39
Absolutely essential: London A-Z.
Available at every bookstore, news agent, and in other odd places.
London A-Z is the street-by-street atlas for London. There are different sizes available - I've always gone with the one that's about 5 inches by 7 inches. (Make that roughly 13 cm by 19 cm in metric). The coil bound ones seem to hold up better than the glued-in ones ("perfect" binding).
This book has a remarkable history. According to the BBC, when Phyllis Pearsall (nee Gross), later MBE, was trying to find a party in Belgravia one rainy night in 1935, her Ordnance Survey map let her down. An artist, Phyllis decided to make a better map of London - in order to fund her art.
She walked 3,000 miles and mapped 23,000 streets. At first, the art paid for the mapping, not exactly what Phyllis had in mind. It must have looked pretty bleak for her when the map was ready and no one would publish it.
Undaunted, Phyllis sold 10,000 copies directly to bookseller W. H. Smith, and today the London A-Z is both useful and iconic.
Some Australians think the Melways map for Melbourne is a better product. I have no opinion because ... when in London, I need the A-Z, and when in Melbourne, the Melways. They aren't interchangeable!
Phyllis Pearsall died in 1996 at the age of 89. Her company, The Geographers' A-Z Map Company, still uses Phyllis's motto: ON WE GO.
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Available at every bookstore, news agent, and in other odd places.
London A-Z is the street-by-street atlas for London. There are different sizes available - I've always gone with the one that's about 5 inches by 7 inches. (Make that roughly 13 cm by 19 cm in metric). The coil bound ones seem to hold up better than the glued-in ones ("perfect" binding).
Cover of the London Street Atlas
This book has a remarkable history. According to the BBC, when Phyllis Pearsall (nee Gross), later MBE, was trying to find a party in Belgravia one rainy night in 1935, her Ordnance Survey map let her down. An artist, Phyllis decided to make a better map of London - in order to fund her art.
She walked 3,000 miles and mapped 23,000 streets. At first, the art paid for the mapping, not exactly what Phyllis had in mind. It must have looked pretty bleak for her when the map was ready and no one would publish it.
Undaunted, Phyllis sold 10,000 copies directly to bookseller W. H. Smith, and today the London A-Z is both useful and iconic.
Some Australians think the Melways map for Melbourne is a better product. I have no opinion because ... when in London, I need the A-Z, and when in Melbourne, the Melways. They aren't interchangeable!
Phyllis Pearsall died in 1996 at the age of 89. Her company, The Geographers' A-Z Map Company, still uses Phyllis's motto: ON WE GO.
If you like this blog, please help spread the word
Click This Link to Add London Travel to Your Technorati Favourites
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