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Bartholomew's started publishing Scottish individual folded half-inch series in 1875. The maps developed over the following decades, with improvements like coloured contours and scaled borders.
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Price structure ; 2/6 Paper, 3/6 on Cloth
reducing to 1/- and 2/- respectively in 1890
For those too young to remember, One Shilling = 1s 0d = 1/- , all formats may be found.
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The separate England & Wales series arrived in 1897.
Sheet numbering started from the north in each case.
The half-inchers proved popular with the public ; the coloured contour system was more intuitive than the Ordnance Survey's black and white one-inch maps. They retained the accuracy expected by being based on the OS, but the 2-miles-to-the-inch scale giving a more appropriate coverage for the "tourer" than the one-inch. Indeed by 1914 the OS was publishing competing colour road maps also at 1/2" scale.
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Here's a piccy of the brown cover of a post-1897 paper version.
Note the formal title "Reduced Ordnance Survey" and underneath "for Tourists and Cyclists" (there weren't that many cars initially!)
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| HINT : These early maps can sometimes have a date clue in the form of Bartholomew's office address - which changed several times. |
North Bridge 1859—1870
31 Chambers Street 1870—1889
(originally 17 Brown’s Square, changed by Post Office c.1875.)
Park Road 1889—1911
Duncan Street 1911—today
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| Price structure ; 1/- Paper, 2/- on Cloth, dissected 2/6
(dissected means where the paper map is cut into rectangles and stuck to a cloth back - this reduces wear and damage at the folds) |
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The formal title became "New Reduced Survey" as seen in this blue example, circa 1904, quite possibly coinciding with CTC information input explained below.
I believe that the blue cover was used for cloth backed maps - which seem to have a better survival rate. The brown cover used for paper versions.
However, another theory is that ALL covers were brown, switching to all-blue c.1911
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Note the gummed-on label on these covers for sheet name & number. There's often a retailer's label in similar style stuck on the lower area too.
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On the turn-of-the-century maps, four (less later) yellow sheets were stuck to the back of map itself advertising other Bartholomew products, and also provide the key to sheet numbering.
(I'm not sure if these were present on pre-1900 maps)
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HINT : Check the adverts, there may be a clue like a mention of 'the King', so that'd be post Queen Victoria (d.1901)
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The Cylcists' Touring Club logo appears at the bottom of the map itself from c.1904, the last seen date for this so far is 1924
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I believe there was no distinction between "good" and "inferior" roads in the key before 1904, it seems this information was added later as the Cycle club members fed it back to Bartholomews.
There was certainly an arrangement to provide this feedback, which would give good evidential weight to a Bart's map if anyone can show documentary evidence of local updates from CTC. Bartholomews state the formal arrangement with CTC was from 1910-1928, but I have had confirmation from CTC's technical officer that "up to 1975, the company was still corresponding and sending a free map to update."
Do note however that "Barts didn't seem to take much notice of the feedback supplied about their increasingly erroneous depiction of minor roads and tracks" ! |
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Here's a 'CTC special edition' of a 1948 Bart's. This may not be proof of CTC contributions, but is indicative of the continuing special relationship with their longest standing customer group.
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Incidently, as the oldest "user group" it's good to see the CTC still going strong. Visit their website at www.ctc.org.uk
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So circa 1904, the key starts to show ten or eleven classifications of roads, plus foot/bridle paths.
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Circa 1912 the price of the paper version was 1/6; cloth remaining at 2/- and dissected 2/6.
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HINT : Dating these early maps can sometimes be accomplished by close examination of the railway system (which is well documented in archives). Check things like company names written alongside main & branch lines, station names (they do change), rationalization where a town may have been served by two companies/stations, cross-links between competitors. Also sidings serving local industries, like brickworks or quarries, come and go. Enlist a railway enthusiast to help!
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For example, I have a Bart's showing dotted a proposed (but never built) railway tunnel to the Isle of Wight, so this can be dated between when the scheme was floated and not too long after it was abandoned (1895-1905ish in this case); for confirmation Ventor town is shown with two stations, one of which wasn't opened until 1900.
This is also evidence of Bart's enthusiasm for updating the maps with information of interest to the travelling public.
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A date code starts to appear on the maps e.g. A14, sometimes alongside the CTC roundel at the bottom of the map, moving to the top left corner later.
Decode as A for the first half of the year and 14 for 1914 - which is the earliest known code on English maps ; Scottish series have been seen with B12. Unless you know better!
Bear in mind this is the revision date - not all sheets (not many at all?) would have been revised twice every year. So a B14 code may have remained on sale for some years.
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This is a slip I found attached to a map with a publish date code of late 1917 (B17), the yellow adverts still being at 1917 prices.
There was a war on after all!
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So, early 1918 the price structure went to 2/6 on Cloth, dissected 3/-, paper versions remaining at 1/6
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Bart's were often sold by map specialists or booksellers in their own covers ; I have a 1908 map with a white hard cover supplied by Foster Groom & Co. of Charing Cross - "Map & Military suppliers". They also turn up in W.H.Smith covers.
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By early 1919 the price of a dissected map rose again to 3/6, the other varieties remaining at 1/6 Paper, 2/6 on Cloth
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Another change in this period - the yellow advert sheets stuck on the sheet rear change to single blue ones sometime between 1917 - 1919.
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The card covers themselves had changed in or before 1919 to separate cards stuck on front and back of the folded map, rather than the earlier "book" style which enveloped and protected the map when closed. Shame!
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COMMENT - an area of concern to early cyclists and motorists were "dangerous hills" - those too steep for primitive brakes. Some rival publishers highlighted steep road sections. Barts, despite the CTC input, didn't. No doubt they felt the contour system was more generally useful to the intelligent user!
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Price structure late 1919 ; 1/6 Paper, 3/- on Cloth, dissected 4/-
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Magnetic Deviation / declination compass rose starts to appear in 1920 - in the margin or in the sea area.
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Circa 1924 the cover wording changed, still with similar artwork, lasting until at least 1929. Still coming in brown and blue cover versions.
The formal title is now "Revised Half Inch to the Mile ", and it's now "for Motorists and Cyclists".
But - reference to the Cyclists' Touring Club has gone, including the roundel.
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Ministry of Transport road numberings start to appear in 1922 (e.g. A314) and by 1929 that fact gets mentioned on the back cover.
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Sheet name and number on the cover are usually printed on directly, no longer stuck-on labels.
The single 'other-products' advert stuck on the rear of the map sheet is still blue.
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The maps are now datable in two ways ; Top left corner by the sheet number still is the code e.g. A27
Close inspection of the magnetic Deviation compass usually shows a date too.
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Bartholomew's were also supplied by the Automobile Association in their own covers .
Period 1920s-1950s I think, but the dating techniques on the map itself should still apply.
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Also the 'Autocar' motoring journal published Bart's in their own covers in the 1920's.
If anyone could supply a cover image I'd be grateful.
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The Royal Automobile Club also supplied Bart's half -inchers in their own covers ; this example is from the 1930s.
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All of which goes to show, that not only did Bart's themselves think their product was suitable for motorists, the leading motoring organisations were recommending them.
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By 1930 the cover design was a bold and modernistic new style , featuring the Royal cipher and the words "Cartographers by appointment to the King". It would seem this style was introduced as early as 1921 on the Scottish series, while the English kept the old style for many years.
The shade of blue tends to vary considerably with age and format.
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The Royal seal also started appearing at the bottom of the map itself from 1930, where the CTC roundel used to be. Maps from 1926 - 1930 carried neither.
Sheet date codes like B35 at top left persist, as does the date on the magnetic Deviation compass.
There's an additional date appearing now too, in the "Reduced by permission ..." text at the bottom.
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The key is simplified to give road classification in eight categories, plus paths.
Aerodromes now appear on the key !
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The major 1936 change is the introduction of the Great Britain series - combining the England & Wales series with the Scotland series, leading to renumbering of all sheets ; starting from A1 in Cornwall, via H3 for the Lakes to S29 for Zetland (Shetland Isles).
At the top of the front cover, maps carried both old designation (e.g Eng.28) and new (A.5)
This odd alpha-prefix was phased out 1938 - 1940; but some maps were still being produced with the later sheet numbers on the cover and old-style index on the back!
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Paper or card covers are both blue from around this time, paper maps usually having paper covers.
The other-product advert stuck on the back of the sheet is now white.
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1938 Price structure ; 1/6 Paper, 3/6 on Cloth, dissected 4/6
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By 1944 though, a more conventional sheet number scheme was used throughout, from 1 (Cornwall) to 62 (Shetland), with slightly amended sheetlines.
The top of the cover carried both the new sheet number AND the oldest (non-alpha) for a while.
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Some sheets change name also at various periods. e.g sheet 29 in England & Wales = Berks & Wilts (1910) -> Berkshire (1935) -> Salisbury Plain (1940).
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By 1942 the cover had altered. The Royal cipher is rather clearer, and the wording underneath (in black rather than orange) is now "by appointment to the late King George V". This lasted until at least 1948.
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1942 Price structure ; 2/6 Paper, 4/- on Cloth, dissected 5/6
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The sheet date codes (A46 etc) persist until 1946 ; just as well as the dates on the magnetic Deviation compass and Ordnance Survey acknowledgement seem to come and go throughout this period !
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From 1946 on the date is clear in the OS acknowledgment .
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1950 Price structure ; 3/- Paper, 6/- on Cloth, dissected 9/-
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Strangely, first appearing in 1951, the cover reverted to the previous 1930's design with the orange-only Royal cipher and words, but "...the late King..." text still of course.
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1953 Price structure ; 3/- Paper, 5/- on Cloth, dissected 7/6 - seems the cost of cloth has gone down!
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In 1956 the number of road classes on the key simplified from eight to seven.
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By 1958 the price structure had been revised to 3/- Paper, 5/- on Cloth, dissected 10/-
(Looks like the labour cost for dissecting went up much more than the base map!)
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By now just four classes of road are shown in the key, but presumably Motorways must have started appearing in this period in addition.
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In 1961 the cover had completely changed, to a bold red and white design, with a thumbnail map of the area covered.
Still just four classes of road are shown in the key.
No longer any "by appointment" endorsements.
These later half-inchers also folded differently.
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A similar style is also found in blue and white ; the larger-lettered cover shown is later, date of changeover c.1965.
I have not yet worked out if the red or blue colour relates to date or media!
I presume this style lasted until metrication.
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1968 price structure ; 4/- Paper, 6/- on Cloth, dissected 12/6
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Throughout all this, Barts continue to turn up 'repackaged'. Here's a couple from a series issued as medical adverts to GP’s in the late 60’s / early 70’s. They were issued by Duphar Laboratories and advertised drugs for constipation and urinary tract infections ! |
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By 1974 it's all over for the half-inch series ... metrication at the Ordnance Survey resulted in Bartholomew's following suit with a new "National" series, scaled at 1:100,000.
Not a bad innings though at around a century in the same format !
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Six classes of road in the key.
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Now carries "By appointment to H.M. the Queen" on front cover.
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Prices no longer printed on the cover by 1975, but earlier examples priced in new pence?? 30p / 40p / £1 ??
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If you can help please email me ! at 
