Popular Edition Maps of the UK
Popular Edition Maps are available to buy as follows:
Your chosen historic local map printed to order. Framed, Mounted, Print Only or on Canvas.
Britain’s first full-colour maps showing the dawn of the motoring age. Surveyed 1919-1926.
Add a personal dedication within a framed print to commemorate a special day or event.
Explore the Popular Edition Map Series
Surveyed between 1912-1923 and first published 1919-1926. Scale is 1:50,000.
The original Ordnance Survey Popular Edition series was conceived before, but published just after, the First World War. It was the first of Ordnance Survey’s series to be conceived from the outset as a mass-market product, and the first to be produced in full colour. The new technology was put to the test in catering for a wholly new market. These Popular Edition maps show England and Wales on the threshold of great change, capturing the point at which the motor car began to define not only the landscape but also the way in which map-makers represented it.

The original impetus behind the creation of the Ordnance Survey and the original Old Series maps had been one of military necessity. Although the maps had soon assumed a more civilian aspect and market, the Ordnance Survey continued to fulfil an important wartime role. During the First World War its normal activities were suspended and over 5,000 people were engaged on military work, producing more than 32 million maps for the war effort.
The end of the conflict coincided with another revolution, as dramatic as that which had swept the country three generations earlier with the advent of the railways – the increased use of the motor car. By the 1920s, this new and independent means of transport had helped create an entirely new market for maps. In 1909, 53,000 cars were registered in the UK: twenty years later there were over a million. Many who could not afford (or did not dare) to use a car cycled instead. Britain already had over 280,000 miles of roads on the eve of the First World War and although these were not of a consistent quality, they were fast being improved. For the first time, the train companies were faced with a real competitor.

The post-war years also saw increased social mobility, prosperity and leisure time which helped to encourage Britain’s fledgling tourism industry. Many of the posters and publicity material produced at this time by resorts and transport bodies to attract these travellers rank amongst the finest achievements of British graphic art. More people were travelling than ever before – and all of them, particularly the motorists, needed maps.
Responding to this, the Ordnance Survey, under the Director-Generalship of Colonel Charles Close, began re-surveying the country in 1912 with a view to producing maps that were both accurate and eye-catchingly designed. After the war, and guided by the results of public consultation, the one-inch Popular Edition was launched, with its iconic cover of a cyclist sitting on a hillside studying a map; a separate 92-sheet Popular Edition series was created for Scotland and published between 1924 and 1932. Some one-inch district or tourist maps focussing on specific towns or attractions were produced from the early 1920s with eye-catching pictorial covers in an attempt to find a wider market.

Popular Edition Maps capture the ever-changing landscape of Britain at a crucial time in its history. The inter-war years arguably saw the emergence of ‘modern’ Britain. The patterns of development and transport links these maps reveal are in many cases familiar to the contemporary eye. Much, however, was about to change, in particular the suburban encroachment into the countryside and the further expansion of the road network. The Popular Edition is a potent record of the Britain that was about to be traded for the motor car. By an irony, it also provided the British with their first motoring maps.
What people say:
Added 16th March 2011
Just a quick thank you for the lovely framed maps - even better than I imagined they would be. One for my son and daughter in law for their new home in Wales, and one for us in Northamptonshire. They are fascinating and show how much places have changed over the years. Again thank you so much - excellent service and prompt delivery.
Added 4th November 2021
Many thanks for this order - a fascinating set of four OS maps for our area going back 200 years. Lots of interesting comparisons to be made!
Kind regards,
John
Added 19th October 2016
Just a brief note to say the map has arrived safely and is all that we had hoped, and more!
Thank you for all your help and your team for completing the commission with time to spare.
Added 2nd April 2019
Order received today. Beautiful!!
Thank you for the swift and excellent service
Added 16th March 2011
This is just a huge thank you for the impressive framed map I received yesterday. The recipient of this gift will be delighted I am sure. Thank you again for your great service.
Added 29th March 2019
Delighted with map. Many thanks
Added 25th January 2018
Please accept my thanks for your prompt delivery of my order for the framed Victorian map of Shropshire. This is intended as a present to my brother on a forthcoming significant birthday. I am delighted with the map and the framing: the standard of workmanship is immaculate.
I am so pleased with it that I will order one for myself in the near future. I will be in touch again when I am ready to do so.
Added 16th March 2011
Just to say a big thank you for the quality of the map I ordered from your company for a Christmas present. I was really pleased with it but was concerned I might not have enough wrapping paper left over- then what did i find but paper & gift tag included.
I am a very satisfied customer
Happy New Year & thanks once again to everyone concerned
Added 16th May 2017
We received the package yesterday and we LOVE it. Thank you to you and your team on working with me on this and being so easy to work with to make sure I got what I wanted. The canvas was perfect, the writing clear and the map with the buildings marked is great. Turned into the perfect birthday gift which I had hoped for.
Added 16th March 2011
I am writing to say Thank you because I have been so impressed with your service. Unfortunately, the first item arrived damaged. A straightforward telephone call to a friendly/helpful member of your staff and a replacement was sent within 10 days. I noticed that the title of the map had been incorrectly stated on the reprint. Once again a telephone call to a friendly/helpful person and I was clear as to how things would be resolved. Within 2 weeks a replacement has once again been received. And even yesterday evening somebody telephoned me to arrange the refund to my Account of the Carriage Charge. My experience of using your service has been excellent. Mistakes and problems happen in Business all the time, but when you have an excellent Customer Service Team who are keen to resolve matters to a customers complete satisfaction it makes such a difference. If other Business took the same attitude as yourselves towards Customer Service it would make such a difference to them. I will definitely be using you again. And most certainly recommending you to others.
Added 19th December 2016
Excellent map with which we are absolutely delighted. Unbeatable service. Helpful customer service from Claire and Andrea. I have no hesitation in highly recommending Francis Frith. It is our second purchase and we will definitely be buying more :)
Added 16th March 2011
Just a quick line to say that I received my framed historical map today and it is utterly wonderful. The gallery style frame is perfect and everything is just how I wanted it. Many thanks for a job well done.
Added 12th March 2020
I ordered a framed print of a 1947 map of my Dads birthplace for his 80th birthday online. It arrived the next day! Both print and frame are extremely good quality. I couldn't have wished for better service. I would thoroughly recommend this company.
Added 19th April 2018
Hi Andrea. I have spoken to my son and his wife. They have received the picture. They are both delighted with it. Thankyou very much for your efforts.
Added 29th August 2020
I wanted an old map of Stoke Gifford, near Bristol for my husband's birthday. So l ordered an 1880 map from Francis Firth. I did pay for express delivery but I didn't expect it to arrive the next day! We are really pleased with the map which clearly shows our house. The framing is really good. The ordering process on the website was slick allowing you to see the various options for the mount and frame
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