Harry Beck - More than a Map
Harry Beck’s name is synonymous with the London Underground Tube Map. Originally considered too radical it's now considered a design icon. But there is more to the man than the map
Portrait of Henry Charles Beck (1965-01-01)TfL Corporate Archives
The Man behind the design
The diagrammatic London Underground Tube Map is recognised throughout the world as a design classic. The man behind the original was Harry Beck, a draughtsman working for the Underground Electric Railway Company
Harry Beck's sketch for the Underground map (1931-01-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Within our collection we have a reproduction of his original illustration. It shows how he simplified the message of the map, overruling conventions of distance or geography, to produce a structure of clean intersecting coloured lines akin to an electric circuit diagram
Map of London's Underground Railways 1931 (1931-06-15) by F H StingemoreTfL Corporate Archives
Compare it to the design of the pocket map from 1931
Beck had worked on the initial design independently and when he initially offered it to the publicity office they turned it down.
The Underground Straight Eight All-Electric Skit-Set Circuit Diagram (1933-03-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Sadly, we don't have a “first edition” of the map published in January 1933, but whilst researching we came across a cartoon by Beck in which he spoofs his newly published map
Maps from the 1930s don't include any attribution to Beck, but it's testament to the radical redesign that at a glance you can identify the “Beck” fundamentals. The above map is however not his design, his principles had been interpreted by another commissioned artist and the earliest “Beck style” map we hold, from 1938, is actually the work of Hans Schleger
Underground map 1943 (1943-01-01)TfL Corporate Archives
The first attributed copy of a map by Harry Beck we hold is from 1943
Staff Magazine Cover
Beck’s talents weren't limited to the map.
He was responsible for the redesign of the cover for the staff magazine, which included a “wheel-device [that] symbolises all our official business and includes the letters TOT [Train Omnibus Tram]."
Train Omnibus Tram (TOT): Our New Cover (1933-01-01)TfL Corporate Archives
"The slight serration on the inner rim suggests a cog-wheel representing the Engineering Departments of our organisation.”
Children's Corner Page Heading (1933-01-01) by Harry BeckTfL Corporate Archives
Illustrator
The first illustration we found in the staff magazine that we can attribute to Beck is a design for the heading for the regular children’s corner feature from March 1932. The design is attributed by his initials HCB
One of the children's stories Harry illustrates is "The Elfin Tube", which is packed with images of toads in top hats and tails, tubes with legs, and pipe smoking dogs
Cartoon: "This Flat to Let" (1932-11-01) by Harry BeckTfL Corporate Archives
Cartoonist
He is also quick to establish his reputation and popularity as a cartoonist - “give your very clever cartoonist, Mr Beck, one full page every month.”
The first signed cartoon is from November 1932, with his response to the poster campaign, “Why not live on the Underground.”
He became a regular contributor
Article: On Route 39 Years (1946-07-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Portrait Artist
He was also a portrait artist celebrating well known faces like Lord Ashfield, but also unsung heroes, a fact we discovered when researching Staff Acts of Bravery on the Home Front during WW2
Beck remained the principal designer of the Underground Map between 1933-1959, retaining a sense of ownership that the organisation didn't appear to share.
Underground Map 1965 (1965-06-15) by London Transport BoardTfL Corporate Archives
He was replaced in 1960 and credits for updated designs went to new designers including Harold Hutchinson and Paul Garbutt
When Harry Beck died in 1974 his contribution to the tube map was underappreciated by both the organisation and the public. His reputation and the significance of his work was restored largely by the efforts of his friend, the designer Ken Garland.
Underground map June 2017 (2017-06-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Today all TfL maps include the following credit to ensure that Harry Beck’s name is synonymous with our iconic Tube Map
Story compiled by TfL from information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives. The Corporate Archives seeks to preserve and make accessible records, not to interpret them. A wider range of material is available for physical consultation.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.
