Garbutt’s 1970 Quad Royal Station Map

Garbutt believed he had ‘rescued’ the London Underground map from the clutches of Harold Hutchison and his ‘ham-fisted parody’ of Beck’s designs.

His basic configuration proved extremely durable, featuring a ‘thermos flask’ shaped Circle Line, horizontal Central Line and vertical Northern Line, but with effective use of diagonals which helped return the map closer to geographical reality than Beck’s later rectilinear designs. Roberts suggests that it works particularly well in this larger, quad royal format.

Garbutt also allowed plenty of space for the inclusion of the Victoria Line, which was then under construction. Roberts also notes that Garbutt’s poster map was extensively redesigned in 1970 (p. 32). BR interchange stations are denoted with the ‘double arrow’ logo; only the section of the Victoria Line extending to Brixton remains under construction.

Condition & Materials

Quad royal station wall map, 105 x 126 cm, printed in colours, blank verso.

References

Roberts, Underground maps after Beck