Kerry Lee (1903 – 1988)
London ‘The Bastion of Liberty’
Original vintage map
46 x 60 cm
Published by Pictorial Maps Limited, Kerry Lee’s own company
c.1965
This edition of the map was produced around 1965. It depicts a number of London’s iconic landmarks, including Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, all of which are distinguishable by the red banners which highlight each London landmark. Lee frames this charming map with illustrations of London boroughs and other landmarks that lie out of the scope of the map, Hampstead, Alexandra Palance, and Greenwich, for example.
Well known as a creator of pictorial maps of British cities from the mid 20th century, Kerry Lee generally draws a self-portrait in the bottom corner by his signature – as here, where he is seen painting (mustachioed and bearded, and clad in a green tunic) with his ever-faithful dog Jim. Educated at Reading Schools of Arts and Science, the Slade and the Sorbonne in Paris, he subsequently assisted his step-father, an architect named Mr Harvey, as draftsman. Following the Depression Lee set up ‘Associated Artists’ at Blandford Studios off Baker Street, with a group of other commercial artists.
During World War II he was based in Hertfordshire creating detailed cut-away drawings of German aircraft, and after the war – still at Blandford Studios – published a series of pictorial maps, both those for British Rail and also his own publications.
