About this Event
Railway diagrams have been at the forefront of mapping Britain’s railways since they first began operating 200 years ago – a journey from A to B has always needed to be easily and quickly understood.
This book reveals the surprising history of how British railway cartographers have led the way in designing clear passenger information, even predating the iconic London Underground diagram, which itself has expanded to encompass overground routes around the capital and beyond.
Written and designed by bestselling author Mark Ovenden and National Rail mapmaker Andrew Smithers, this intriguing and lively history is illustrated with over 300 colourful maps from around the country, showing the evolution of schematics from simple line drawings to complex diagrams that incorporate ever more information.
About the speakers
Mark Ovenden is an Author, Broadcaster and Consultant on the subjects of design, cartography, typography and architecture in the world of public transport. His 20 books on these subjects have been translated into half a dozen languages. His broadcast career spans 40 years working at Radio 1, MTV, Ministry of Sound and Kiss with his documentaries having been aired on BBC Four and BBC Radio 4. He is the host of the UK’s only weekly FM radio show on transport and design. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, has a Masters Degree in Railway Studies, and currently lives in a rural village on the Isle of Wight after a lifetime in cities like London, Paris, New York and Manchester.
Andrew Smithers first developed an interested in schematic map design when he grew up in London viewing the tube map. After art college and various jobs he ran a successful graphic design consultancy. At the privatisation of the railways in 1997 he realised there was no national diagram and designed his first basic design. In 2006 he created the Project Mapping website to promote his own designs and collect schematic designs from all over the world (many still printed and not available digitally). This portal is the largest in the world for schematic maps and gets 2000 hits a day. His maps were adopted by National Rail for use on their website and many maps were commisioned by train operators, Network Rail and other operators around the world. After retiring he met Mark Ovenden and they agreed to write a book about the development of schematic maps (an area dominated by the tube map). The mass of maps collected over 20 years (many which would have otherwise disappeared) enabled a thorough review of the development of schematic maps and the creation of the Mapping Britain’s Railways book
The event will start promptly at 7.00pm, please arrive 10 minutes early.
Ticket with the book: £27.00 (save £6)
Ticket £8.00
Includes a complimentary glass of wine/soft drink on arrival.
The book will be available for 20% off on the night, but it is better value to buy with the ticket in advance.
You can view the new book on our website here.
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Author talks are held in our basement which is fully accessible via a nearby lift. Please let us know in advance if you have any accessibility needs.
Please ensure we have an up-to-date contact email address or telephone number when booking your ticket so that we can contact you with any updates.
Event venue & nearby stays
Stanfords, 7 Mercer Walk, London, United Kingdom
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