This unusual folding pamphlet map of London’s bus network in 1934 has been overprinted with large text advertising ‘Cinderella’, that year’s Christmas pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A large arrow mimicking the directional arrows found in Underground stations points to the location of the theatre. The name of a theatre ticket seller based in Knightsbridge is stamped the back of the map, suggesting that this was a free souvenir map handed out to customers who bought tickets to the pantomime.

This is the first and only example of the 1934 bus map we have seen with such an overprinted advertisement. It is likely that the difficult economic conditions of the early 1930s made partnerships like these highly attractive to London Transport; however, these overprinted map variants are so rare on the market, that it is unclear just how many were printed or how successful they were.

An original 1934 theatre brochure advertising the Cinderella pantomime is included with the map.

Printed colour. [LDN6955]