Now that I’ve acquired my own large format inkjet printer, I’m printing and fulfilling all orders from my print store myself. This means it’s much easier for me to produce many of my maps in larger, made-to-order sizes for those who want them. All of my original maps are created in Adobe Illustrator, so they can scale up to any size as required. In addition, many of my restored vintage maps have excellent image resolution […]
Via airlinemaps: The Korean Air Lines route map from a 1 July 1974 timetable. This is a fun map – it takes diagrammatic elements and mixes them with curves to create a pleasant aesthetic. A key that includes the status of the Bangkok-Singapore route and what the destinations without routes indicate would be a good addition. KAL operated 29 aircraft, including four 707s, three 727s, three 747s and four DC-8s, in July 1974, the Flight […]
QDo you know any official London Underground map that shows the Metropolitan Line/stations beyond Aylesbury (i.e. the Brill and Verney Junction branches) and not just mentions them in a ‘To’ box? ANo, I haven’t ever seen a map with “Underground” branding that shows the entire network and the Metropolitan Railway’s fullest extent out to the far reaches of Brill and Verney Junction, some 40-odd miles from London. The closest I can find is a Metropolitan Railway […]
A rather lovely minimalist diagram of Intercity trains in The Netherlands as introduced by the Spoorslag 70 plan, an effort at modernising and standardising passenger train travel in that country. The coastline at the bottom left gets a little complex compared to the simplicity of the rest of the map, and all the type is angled (but at least all on the same axis!), but otherwise this is really quite lovely. The single thin black […]
Submitted by sailsandrails, who says: I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while: what is your opinion of the original styling of Helsinki’s Metro map? (Photo taken from this site, unfortunately I couldn’t find a better one). After several revisions, the current version looks like this, which is more international in style. Personally, I think the original is surprisingly readable while being pleasantly unique in style, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. […]
I’ve long admired this beautiful 1954 flow diagram of subway service into Manhattan during the morning peak hour, so I set myself the personal challenge of recreating it using modern design tools (Adobe Illustrator) while still staying true to the original principles of the map. While it was certainly possible to just trace the source material in Illustrator with the pen tool and end up with a decent facsimile of the original, there’s really nothing to […]
Here’s a great old system map of Sydney’s suburban rail system from around the middle of the 1970s. It has to be from before 1978, as that’s the year that the Eastern Suburbs line opened, and it’s not shown here. I distinctly remember seeing a few of these in old “Red Rattler” carriages in the mid-to-late 1980s, so they lived on well past their “use by” date. As seen here, the maps lived above the windows […]
A charming illustrated map – attributed to artist Ruth Taylor White – showing landmarks and destinations that could be reached on the Los Angeles Railways’ electric streetcars and motorcoaches, some of which are shown traversing the streets of the city. The LARY’s headquarters at 1050 South Broadway are shown at the centre of the map (#36). Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the numbered key to the map, but most of the points of […]
Here’s an interesting find! This is the oldest original transit map that I’ve ever come across, showing the nascent horsedrawn omnibus lines of Paris in the early 19th century. The original source of the map – the State Library of Victoria in Australia, of all places! – tentatively dates the map to 1828, the year that the buses first made an appearance in the city. However, I’d be inclined to place it a little later […]
Here’s something of an increasing rarity – a London Underground map that I haven’t seen before. It’s the 1941 edition of the Hans Schleger map, printed in brown and blue ink only due to wartime austerity measures. I’ve written about the first edition of this map previously (April 2014, 3 stars) which was notable for its use of a blue airbrushed effect to highlight the central part of the map. Its removal certainly improves the legibility […]
