At a glance
• A rare 1932 draft of Harry Beck’s first London Underground map — featuring his handwritten annotations — will be auctioned at Christie’s in London on December 11, with an estimated price of £70,000–£100,000
• Beck’s map, inspired by electrical circuit diagrams, ignored geography in favour of clarity, using straight lines and colour-coded routes that transformed how people navigated the Tube
• The draft includes notes and corrections by Beck and his predecessor Fred Stingemore, showing the evolution of one of the 20th century’s most influential designs — a rare surviving proof from the creation of the iconic 1933 map still used today.
A rare draft copy of Harry Beck’s iconic Tube map is to be sold at auction in London next month.
Experts say the “wonderfully simple” map – which includes a number of handwritten annotations made by Beck - is “like witnessing the moment London’s transport identity was born”.
Beck’s design revolutionised how passengers were able to understand the layout of the London Underground by ignoring the true distance between the stations and the city’s topography.
The map, created in 1932, used vertical, diagonal and horizontal lines to magnify the central London area and compress the distances between stations in outer London.
It is the earliest known version of Beck’s final map, which was published to great acclaim in January 1933 and remains the template for Transport for London’s modern-day Tube map.
The map will be auctioned at Christie’s on December 11, with a guide price of £70,000 to £100,000.
James Hyslop, head of department, science & natural history, at Christie’s, said: “It’s a real privilege to bring to auction Harry Beck’s own annotated proof of the 1932 Underground map – and to do so here in London makes it even more special.
“This is one of the most groundbreaking and influential designs of the 20th century. Beck’s map transformed the way we visualise cities, replacing geography with clarity and logic, and became as iconic as the Tube network itself.
“Seeing his handwritten notes alongside those of his predecessor, Fred Stingemore, is like witnessing the moment London’s transport identity was born.
“With only a handful of Beck’s manuscripts known to survive, this sale offers a rare chance to own a foundational piece of London’s visual history.”
Beck, who died in 1972, was an electrical draughtsman who based his concept on a circuit diagram: “stripping away geography in favour of clarity, compression and logic”, according to Christie’s.
The draft map shows the Piccadilly line in a light blue colour – later changed to dark blue when the final version of the map was published.
The notes and corrections in the margins include the need to include the Metropolitan branch line to Watford, suggesting a change of colour for the names of Waterloo and South Kensington stations and removing the Piccadilly line service from South Ealing station – the Piccadilly line did not call at the station until 1933.
The annotations, some of which are thought to have been made by Fred Stingemore, queries the name of “Willesden Junction (New Station)” and notes that the diamond symbol for New Cross station has been printed “too small”.
In a note accompanying the auction, Christie’s says Beck’s “clean lines, strict diagonals, and colour-coded routes were a radical break from the sprawling topographical maps that came before.
“This proof shows that process in motion — from colour corrections for Waterloo and South Kensington to the reinstatement of the Metropolitan line branch to Watford.”
Few working proofs survive - most are held by the London Transport Museum - making the map “one of the rarest surviving artefacts of modern British design”.
Stingemore's previous maps of the Underground showed the lines curving their way across the capital and were far harder to interpret.
Beck's first draft was initially rejected by Underground bosses. His final version was published on January 1, 1933, and was” taken up with enthusiasm” by Londoners, with an order of 750,000 copies of the pocket-sized card folder edition.
The Tube map most recently underwent a major redesign to incorporate the Elizabeth line and its stations, ahead of the line’s opening in May 2022.
In 2023, London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan rebranded the six lines of the London Overground at a cost of more than £6m.
Last year, Beck’s life was celebrated in a stage show at London Transport Museum.
