1918 Letchworth Garden City Map – First Garden City Ltd Parker & Unwin Plan
Original 1918 colour-printed estate plan of the Letchworth Garden City Estate, issued by First Garden City Ltd during the closing months of the First World War.
Titled:
“The Town Area of the Letchworth Estate of First Garden City Ltd. Plan of Present Development, Spring 1918.”
Designed by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, this edition records the layout and progress of the world’s first Garden City immediately before the movement’s expansion to Welwyn in 1920.
Printed for the Estate Office, Letchworth, this map shows in colour:
Includes early landmarks such as Letchworth Hall Hotel, Garden City Works, the Golf Course, and developing factory sites and residential areas.
Unlike ordinary Ordnance Survey maps, this was estate-issued — printed in limited numbers for internal planning and promotional use by First Garden City Ltd.
Folded as issued, with light toning, edge wear and a small pencil note along the lower margin reading:
“Please don’t lose this or damage it more than can help.”
Approx. 56 x 44 cm
Condition: Good Solid Vintage condition with consideration of age and printed/folding style. Shows age toning, small edge tears and odd small holes. Feels strong and secure when folding and colours are still bright crisp clean and clear. A great example of a truely scarce map.
A scarce and historically significant map from 1918, documenting Britain’s pioneering Garden City at the very end of the Great War — an authentic artefact from the formative years of modern town planning.
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