Libraries and leisure

Stingemore Photographic Collection

Historic photos by the "underground man" come to light

An historic collection of nearly 7,500 original plates by the nationally recognised photo-journalist, F H Stingemore has been brought to light for the first time in over 50 years, thanks to a new imaging process devised by Brian Gravestock, a volunteer for Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies. The results are amazing. They have been converted to high-quality digital images for all to see and can be properly appreciated for the first time.

Mr Stingemore produced the first schematic maps of the London Underground in the 1920s and after his marriage in 1914 he came to live in Radlett. Many of the photographs (1909 - 39)reflect his love of the area.

The subject range of the collection is huge and it covers 26 counties in England and Wales, making it an important national resource. More than 1,200 images relate to Hertfordshire, with another 1,100 for Surrey and nearly 1,000 for Cornwall.

Mr Gravestock has produced a searchable database and results can be printed out listing items by place, date, locality and title.

The Stingemore Photographic Index can be accessed via the Online reference Library in all Hertfordshire Libraries and copies can be printed. Higher quality images can be ordered from Hertfordhire Archives and Local Studies for £2.00 per A4 sheet.

The 1925 underground card map designed by F H Stingemore was the first version to leave out surface details of the city(apart from the river) and road map in favour of a diagrammatic presentation of the underground routes themselves. The map, which was colour coded, represented the actual layout of the routes and relative positions of the stations, using curved and irregular lines. It preceeded the more familiar, linear design by Harry Beck, which became the model for later versions with which we are familiar today.