Official Railway Map of Lancashire & District

London, McCorquodale &: Co, Ltd, 1933. Folding map, sheet size 117.5 x 77.5 cm, drawn and engraved by John and William Emslie, dissected into 30 panels and laid on linen, a couple of short splits along folds, folding into publisher’s leather covers, rubbed and with some wear, lettered direct. Ownership isncription of Sir H Hartley, consistent with the signature of Sir Harold Hartley (1878-1972), knighted in 1928. A distinguished soldier and chemist, Hartley also held a number of senior appointments in business and industry, including a term as Chairman of BOAC. The Railway Clearing House allocated revenue on occasions where one company’s train ran over another’s track, and promoted standardisation (of everything, from time to rolling stock) across the network. From the 1870s, Clearing House employee John Airey produced a superb series of ‘official’ railway maps, which were printed in relatively small runs (typically 100-500 copies) for use by railway staff rather than distribution to passengers. In 1895 the Clearing House bought Airey’s business, and the maps continued to be revised and updated by the same engravers and in the same style. Map