Map Referred to in the Metropolis Gas Act, 1860.

380 x 390 cm. A magnificent wall map of London. Engraved over thirty sheets, joined, backed onto linen, trimmed with green silk and mounted on original rollers. The whole housed within original wooden case (measuring roughly 420 x 15 x 14 cm). Original wash hand colour demarcating the gas company districts, the names of which have been handwritten in bold black ink. The map shows the extents from Crouch End down to Streatham and Plaistow across to Wormwood Scrubs. Scale - 12 inches to the mile. The altitudes given in feet at numerous intervals, almost at every inch. Small tear within map towards upper edge. Fabric tape repair on reverse side of upper right corner. One of the finial posts missing from the lower roller. The signature of Thomas Henry Sutton Sotheron-Estcourt, "Chairman of the Select Comittee, House of Commons" dated 14th Aug. 1860, appears in manuscript to the lower left corner beneath the title. Sotheron-Estcourt was M.P. for North Wiltshire and briefly held the office of Home Secretary in the previous year. The title repeated in manuscript on the linen verso (on the reverse side of the upper right corner). Adjacent to this a manuscript note reads: "Deposited in the Clerk of the Peace's Office on the 22nd August 1860". The Clerk of the Peace was a semi judicial position appointed to the county council, one the main tasks of the position was maintenance of local legal records. In passing the Metropolis Gas Act, the House of Commons regulated the rivalling gas companies operating across London: demarcating the districts that they could supply (outlined on the map), establishing a standard unit of measurement for energy usage (candle power) and setting a maximum price per unit. The Home Secretary was effectively appointed to the role of ombudsman by the Act.…