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| By Claire Heald BBC News Mapping London's DocklandsEnlarge Image When Phyllis Pearsall, born 100 years ago on Monday, got lost on her way to a party in 1930s London, she set about designing her own street map of the capital. The result - the A-Z - has become a byword for city atlases across the UK. | By Claire Heald BBC News Mapping London's DocklandsEnlarge Image When Phyllis Pearsall, born 100 years ago on Monday, got lost on her way to a party in 1930s London, she set about designing her own street map of the capital. The result - the A-Z - has become a byword for city atlases across the UK. |
| When Phyllis Pearsall set out for a party in Belgravia, London, on a rainy night in 1935, she took along the most recent Ordnance Survey map to help her. | When Phyllis Pearsall set out for a party in Belgravia, London, on a rainy night in 1935, she took along the most recent Ordnance Survey map to help her. |
| But the 16-year-old map failed to stop her getting lost. And by the time she arrived at the gathering, hours late, bedraggled and wet, she resolved to do something about it. | But the 16-year-old map failed to stop her getting lost. And by the time she arrived at the gathering, hours late, bedraggled and wet, she resolved to do something about it. |
| The result one year later was the first edition of the A-Z Atlas and Guide to London and Suburbs. | The result one year later was the first edition of the A-Z Atlas and Guide to London and Suburbs. |
| Intrepid task | Intrepid task |
| Pearsall fans and former colleagues celebrate her 100th anniversary today. She died in 1996, just short of her 90th birthday, and still working at the company that makes the definitive guide to London, other UK cities, counties and areas in 359 titles. | Pearsall fans and former colleagues celebrate her 100th anniversary today. She died in 1996, just short of her 90th birthday, and still working at the company that makes the definitive guide to London, other UK cities, counties and areas in 359 titles. |
| The first edition was a year's work | The first edition was a year's work |
| Creating the first A-Z was a tough job. Before satellite imaging or extensive aerial photography, Pearsall worked 18-hour days and walked 3,000 miles to map the 23,000 streets of 1930s London. She had just one colleague, draughtsman James Duncan. | Creating the first A-Z was a tough job. Before satellite imaging or extensive aerial photography, Pearsall worked 18-hour days and walked 3,000 miles to map the 23,000 streets of 1930s London. She had just one colleague, draughtsman James Duncan. |
| Of course, there were no decent maps to follow. "I had to get my information by walking. I would go down one street, find three more and have no idea where I was," she later recalled. | Of course, there were no decent maps to follow. "I had to get my information by walking. I would go down one street, find three more and have no idea where I was," she later recalled. |
| Pearsall was an artist first and the map-making was intended to fund her primary passion. At the start, however, it was the other way around and her commissions funded wages. | Pearsall was an artist first and the map-making was intended to fund her primary passion. At the start, however, it was the other way around and her commissions funded wages. |
| The struggle to have the atlas published showed the mettle of a woman who was turfed out of home by her mother's lover, and was divorced by the age of 30. | The struggle to have the atlas published showed the mettle of a woman who was turfed out of home by her mother's lover, and was divorced by the age of 30. |
| Her completed map was rejected by publishers, so she ran off 10,000 copies and sold them to WH Smith. Pearsall chose the name A-Z from the index. It was a hit publication and, bar a spell in World War II when map production was government-restricted, the company grew and grew. | Her completed map was rejected by publishers, so she ran off 10,000 copies and sold them to WH Smith. Pearsall chose the name A-Z from the index. It was a hit publication and, bar a spell in World War II when map production was government-restricted, the company grew and grew. |
| Mistakes a minefield | Mistakes a minefield |
| Today, A-Z is one of several competing street atlas brands on bookshop shelves. But for anyone with a love of maps, their aesthetic and their complex detail, an obsessional desire to know how places fit together and a deep-seated aversion to being lost, Pearsall's life's work is remarkable. | Today, A-Z is one of several competing street atlas brands on bookshop shelves. But for anyone with a love of maps, their aesthetic and their complex detail, an obsessional desire to know how places fit together and a deep-seated aversion to being lost, Pearsall's life's work is remarkable. |
| PHYLLIS PEARSALL MBE 1906: Born Phyllis Gross1920: Leaves school and spends teens in France1928: Marries artist Richard Pearsall, they later part1935: Returns to London and starts the A-Z map1939: With maps restricted by war, works for Government1945: Injured in plane crash1986: Exhibition of her paintings in London1996: Dies of cancer aged 89 | PHYLLIS PEARSALL MBE 1906: Born Phyllis Gross1920: Leaves school and spends teens in France1928: Marries artist Richard Pearsall, they later part1935: Returns to London and starts the A-Z map1939: With maps restricted by war, works for Government1945: Injured in plane crash1986: Exhibition of her paintings in London1996: Dies of cancer aged 89 |
| "She was both determined and inspirational, knew exactly what she wanted to do and carried everyone with her," says Ian Griffin, the designer at the Geographer's A-Z Map Company, who worked for Pearsall for 27 years. | "She was both determined and inspirational, knew exactly what she wanted to do and carried everyone with her," says Ian Griffin, the designer at the Geographer's A-Z Map Company, who worked for Pearsall for 27 years. |
| The A-Z is "more than direction, it's a history" says Mr Griffin. "Some people are interested in flowers, some people have empathy for maps. There's so much there, it tells you how the city's grown, it's a picture of the world." | The A-Z is "more than direction, it's a history" says Mr Griffin. "Some people are interested in flowers, some people have empathy for maps. There's so much there, it tells you how the city's grown, it's a picture of the world." |
| The pre-war A-Z of London is a perfect record of the pre-Blitz layout with areas like the warren of booksellers' shops in Paternoster Square - now an open expanse behind St Paul's. | The pre-war A-Z of London is a perfect record of the pre-Blitz layout with areas like the warren of booksellers' shops in Paternoster Square - now an open expanse behind St Paul's. |
| Compare London's Docklands in the 1960 edition to one of today's editions, and witness the immense changes in transport, housing, growing park land and shrinking waterways. | Compare London's Docklands in the 1960 edition to one of today's editions, and witness the immense changes in transport, housing, growing park land and shrinking waterways. |
| Seeing by road | Seeing by road |
| Design consultant Stephen Bayley says the reason for A-Z's success is simple: "It addresses the real needs of people who live in cities and they just let the roads dominate. The North Circular is given far more significance than Buckingham Palace. We're made to see cities in the terms of the A-Z - in those terms it's a great work of art." | Design consultant Stephen Bayley says the reason for A-Z's success is simple: "It addresses the real needs of people who live in cities and they just let the roads dominate. The North Circular is given far more significance than Buckingham Palace. We're made to see cities in the terms of the A-Z - in those terms it's a great work of art." |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| Fantastic! Today most ladies would be more concerned with sore feet, wet hair and blaming someone else. Phyllis should be an inspiration to all women. Lisa, Surrey | |
| Who needs sat nav when you have an A-Z? Daniel Crisp, London | |
| I wish they'd expand to Germany. Here you can only get street plans of cities in map format, which is unwieldy and doesn't have enough detail, especially for large cities. Anyone who's had to refold a map under a small umbrella or while in the front passenger seat of a car will appreciate what a great idea it was to print the A-Z in book format. Philip, Munich | |
| Every motorcycle courier who ever worked in London owes a huge debt to this lady. And the City of London owes an equal debt to the thousands of two-wheeled messengers who have kept the City running for decades, all with the help of A-Z map books.Thank you Phyllis, my previous life as a motorcycle messenger would have been so much harder without your wonderful maps! Glenn Le Santo, Lincoln | |