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.
