Leslie MacDonald Gill (1884-1947), “The Wonderground Map of London Town,” London, 1915.

This highly detailed and eye-catching map was commissioned by the London Underground to entertain passengers waiting for their trains. This map–jam packed with bright colors, tongue-in-cheek nods to the heraldic decoration on early maps of London, and puns about place names–was arguably too good at this job of entertaining passengers. The Daily Sketch reported in May 1914 that “people spend so long looking at this map ñ they miss their trains yet go on smiling.” The map proved so popular that the map soon became available for retail sale, and inspired many imitations of other cities.

Sheet: height: 29 1/2 in x width: 37 in.