A rare and early underground and railway folding map of the public railways transportation system in Sydney, Australia in 1939.
The designer is unknown but mirrors the iconic design for London Underground by Harry Beck created in 1933.
The roundel of the London Underground is also used in this Australian map, but it is not known whether this was used officially or unofficially
However, this was the ONLY map issued by the Sydney Commissioner for Railways in this format so it would appear that London Underground did not license or authorise the use of London Underground symbols or the Beck design. However, it could also be that the public did not like it coupled with the fact that at the time Sydney only had FOUR undergrounds station in its network - Town Hall, Wynyard, St James and Museum.
The back of the main map has a smaller map showing the location of the entrances to the four stations and an almost direct copy of the London Underground logo, even to the detail of the Larger 'U' and 'D' lettering.
This copy is in good condition, with some minor signs of age. Some browning of the paper and small areas of foxing, with two small tears on the right hand margin. The name of a previous owner has been inscribed on the front cover.
