1932 London Underground Pocket Map - FH Stingemore

Map of London’s Underground Railways

Designed by Frederick H Stingemore (FHS). Printed by Waterlow & Sons for London Underground . 1932, 12th Edition. 16.7cm x 14.2cm Linen-card. Condition: Very Good.

Despite a career spanning over 40 years in the London Underground Drawing Office, it is as HC Beck’s immediate predecessor as map designer that Frederick Stingemore is most well known.

Like many before him, Stingemore grappled with the density and sprawl of the Underground railway network to draft a series of pocket maps from 1925 to 1932. The Stingemore series of pocket maps saw 12 bi-fold linen-card editions, each with a distinctive colour cover. The map design improved in clarity with each iteration whilst remaining topographical in format with some distortion applied for outlying areas. It was Stingemore that had encouraged his colleague, Harry Beck, to resubmit his radical circuit diagram design after it was initially rejected. Beck’s diagram was published in January 1933.

Only the first 5 maps in the Stingemore series were dated though later maps can be easily placed using a great flow diagram produced by Einar Frigland (See last Photo)