| | A unique and graphic flashback to the earliest days of the London Underground This is a picture album with a difference - it doesn't contain a single photograph. For that reason you must suspend any disinclination you might have towards line engravings. Yes, they certainly are an archaic form of illustration, perhaps even inferior to photographs (in some ways, not all). In fact we don't have much of a choice in our period; early photographs of the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways are relatively scarce whereas line illustrations are abundant. The reason is simple: photographers were few and far between. The equipment was heavy, bulky, expensive and fragile - in other words scarce - not to mention the skill needed to take good photographs with glass plates and long exposures in often dark locations. Artists were plentiful by contrast, and sketch pads were cheap. So most of the illustrations we see of the first few decades of the Underground's operation are sketches and line engravings. Very good ones as well, often showing detail that would not have been clear in photographs. The pictures used in this book have been chosen from the widest possible selection and come not just from Britain but also from France, Germany and the USA, which speaks much for the far-spread reputation of the world's first underground railway. Some of them come from extremely obscure sources and have not been seen in print since first publication. Certainly never before have so many original engravings of the first underground railways been seen together. Contents:
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Beginnings
- Might-Have-Beens
- Promise . . . And Reality
- Baker Street
- Construction Begins
- The Engraving Process
- Digging Up The Euston Road
- King`s Cross
- The Long Day
- Constructing the Tunnels
- Cross Section of the Euston Road
- Chaos at Street Level
- Cut and Cover at King`s Cross
- The Fleet Ditch at Peace
- The Fleet Sewer Bursts
- King`s Cross Junctions
- Fowler`s Ghost at Praed Street Junction
- The Line Opens
- Baker Street, 1863
- Doré: The Workmen`s Train
- Portland Road
- Gower Street
- King`s Cross
- Clerkenwell Tunnel
- Aerial View of the Vine Street Area
- Farringdon Street
- Smithfield West Junction
- Initial Works at Smithfield
- Building a Station
- Aldersgate Station
- Moorgate Station
- Aldgate Terminus
- Junction of St Johns Wood Railway
- Paddington, Praed Street
- Kensington
- Gloucester Road
- Works at Westminster
- Parliament Square
- Excavated Works on the Thames Embankment
- The Metropolitan Inner-Circle Railway
- The Victorian Travel Experience
- Penny Guide
- Portable Reading Lights
- The Patent Next Station Indicator
- Finding One`s Way
- Getting About
- Organisation of Stations
- Select Bibliography
Continent: Europe
Country: UK
Area: UK London | | Tag cloud: flashback doesn inferior metropolitan bulky fragile skill glass germany far-spread emmerson euston peace sewer ghost praed doré workmen portland gower clerkenwell tunnel vine farringdon smithfield terminus wood paddington kensington gloucester westminster inner-circle victorian penny patent indicator | Tell a friend about this publication  |
| | Other Titles from this publisher:
|
