Old Map of Liverpool in 1934 by G.H. Parry - Birkenhead, Wavertree, Port Sunlight
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Published in 1934 by the illustrator G.H. Parry, this pictorial map of Liverpool is a world away from a conventional street plan. Parry crammed the page with lively drawn-out buildings, ships and figures rather than plain lines, creating something closer to a piece of art than a functional map, even though every major road and landmark is still carefully placed. The River Mersey and its dockside dominate the lower half of the sheet, reflecting just how central the port was to Liverpool's identity in the interwar years, while across the water Birkenhead, Egremont, New Brighton, Seacombe and the model village of Port Sunlight are all picked out on the Wirral shore.
On the Liverpool side, the map is criss-crossed with the red lines of the city's railways and dotted with the numbered circles marking its once-extensive electric tram routes, a reminder of how Liverpool's Victorian and Edwardian growth had been built on fast, cheap public transport. The map extends out to just beyond Queens Drive, the ring road that then marked the practical edge of the built-up city, and takes in all four of Liverpool's great Victorian parks - Sefton, Wavertree, Newsham and Stanley - each drawn with real affection for detail. Liverpool's grand civic buildings, the Town Hall among them, are rendered in charming pictorial form alongside the dockside warehouses and cranes, and the whole sheet rewards a slow, close look, with dozens of small figures and vignettes tucked into its corners.
Printed as a lively wall art piece, this map suits anyone who loves Liverpool's quirks as much as its history. It makes a brilliant birthday or Christmas gift for a proud Scouser, and works just as well as a Father's Day present for a dad who remembers the old tram routes, or a retirement gift for someone who spent a career working on or around the docks. It's also a fitting housewarming present for a new home anywhere from Wavertree to the Wirral, and one that rewards repeated viewing far more than a standard street plan ever could.
