Old Map of London in 1928 by Max Gill - The Wonderground Underground Map

This is the 1928 edition of Macdonald 'Max' Gill's famous Wonderground Map of London, originally created in 1914 and commissioned by Frank Pick of the Underground Electric Railways Company. At the time, London's Underground was used almost entirely by rush-hour commuters and stood largely empty on evenings, weekends and holidays, so Gill was asked to design a map that would tempt Londoners to explore the network for pleasure rather than just for work.

The result is a playful, pictorial map of the whole Underground network, described as a mixture of cartoon, fantasy and topographical accuracy, in which London is transformed into something resembling a medieval town. Along the way Gill illustrates Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Piccadilly Circus, fishing on the River Thames, the Zoo at Regent's Park, and the greyhound racing track at Wembley Stadium, with a racing dog shown dashing along the Harrow Road in tribute to the dog races that began there in 1927. The map is credited with helping to save the Underground by drawing passengers onto the network outside peak hours.

This map makes a wonderful gift for a Londoner celebrating a house move, a retirement gift for someone who spent a career commuting on the Tube, a birthday or Christmas present for a transport enthusiast, or a corporate gift for a London-based office. The delicate hand-lettering and whimsical illustrations across the whole network have been carefully restored to bring out every detail of Gill's original artwork.