Booth's Poverty Map of London

BOOTH, Charles.

Map Shewing Degrees of Poverty in London in Areas with about 30,000 inhabitants in each. Compiled from Information Collected in 1889-90.
London: Stanfords, 1891. Colour-printed map. 630 x 880mm.

Laid on light canvas, as issued, repairs to folds.

A map of London colour-coded to show the percentage of the population under the poverty line, with areas marked between under 10% to 70%. It was published in the appendix to Booth's 'Life and Labour of the People in London', Volume II. Examples are uncommon due to the low quality of the paper used at the time.
Booth (1840-1916), owner of the Booth Shipping Line, acted in response to an 1886 Pall Mall Gazette article that claimed that 25% of Londoners lived in poverty. Booth regarded this figure as wildly exaggerated, so recruited a team of volunteer researchers to compile an analysis of social conditions based on field visits and interviews with local police, clergy and employers. The first volume of 'Life and Labour' (1889), covering the East End, showed that 35% lived in poverty. The second series, covering the rest of the city (1891) showed that no less than 30 per cent of the city's total population could be classed as poor.

HYDE: Victorian Maps of London, 254.
Stock ID : 19490