London.- Booth (Charles) Descriptive Map of London Poverty 1889, in four parts covering the North-Western, South-Western, North-Eastern, and South Eastern parts of London, based on Stanford's 'Library Map of London' but with coloured-coded identification indicating London's poverty and prosperity street by street, lithographs printed in colours, various sheet sizes approx. 515 x 620 mm (20 1/4 x 24 1/2 in) or slightly smaller, two with lower edges trimmed, one sheet with right edge trimmed to map, all trimmed sections allowing for flush joining of sheets, currently not joined, some surface dirt and minor scuffs, folding without slipcase, 8vo, 1889; together with Booth's 'Map Shewing Degrees of Poverty in London in areas with about 30,000 Inhabitants in each, Compiled from Information Collected in 1889-1890', an outline map dividing the city into areas with colour-coded key illustrating the extent of poverty in each location, with key and table in the upper and lower right corners, respectively, originally published with the appendix to 'Labour & Life of the People' vol. 2, lithograph printed in colour, sheet 650 x 890 mm (25 1/2 x 35), laid onto linen, some handling creases and light folds, some spotting and minor surface dirt, folding without slipcase, unframed, [1890-1891] (2)

⁂ "Quite the most important thematic map of the metropolis in the 19th century" [Hyde p. 28]. Originally published as part of 'Labour and Life of the People', which was Booth's monumental polemic on poverty, where he argued that chronic pauperism inevitably led to depravity, and that recognition of endemic poverty and the problems it caused must be given greater weight in both political and social circles.