science

Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas

Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas rather than just read about it. In short: The Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas, commonly shortened to A–Z (pronounced "Ay to Zed"), is a title given to any one of a range of atlases of streets in the United Kingdom formerly produced by Geographers' A–Z Map Company Limited, now published by HarperCollins. Dating old maps Until relatively recently, maps produced by the Geographers' (A–Z) Map Company did not include a publication date.

Key takeaways

Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas, commonly shortened to A–Z (pronounced "Ay to Zed"), is a title given to any one of a range of atlases of streets in the United Kingdom formerly produced by Geographers' A–Z Map Company Limited, now published by HarperCollins.

Dating old maps

Until relatively recently, maps produced by the Geographers' (A–Z) Map Company did not include a publication date. It is possible to determine a date range for publication due to the following:

their first map was published in 1936; the only maps produced by them during World War II (1939–1945) were war maps of Europe; until his death in 1958, the front cover stated "Produced under the direction of Alexander Gross"; until 1962, the publication address was "28 Gray's Inn Road, Holborn, London"; from 1962 to 1992, the publication address was "Sevenoaks, Kent"; in 1972, the company name was changed from "Geographers' Map Company" to "Geographers' A–Z Map Company"; from 1992 to 2019, the publication address is "Borough Green, Kent".

Date codes On all A–Z maps, there is a three or four letter code in one of the corners, often the one containing the key. These letters represent numbers, which are the cartographic date, in the form (M)MYY. There was at least one scheme used, and perhaps a second. In one scheme, the letters JIHGFEDCBA represent the digits 1 to 9 and 0, so that HFD would be 357, indicating a publication date of March 1957. This seems to have been used on all the company's folding maps, and possibly also those in book form. If a second scheme was used, if might have been that of Geographia Map Company, also founded by Alexander Gross. In that case, the letters CUMBERLAND represent the digits 1 to 9 and 0.

In popular culture The Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas and the story of how Phyllis Pearsall came to write the first edition covering London were featured in a 2005 episode of Nicholas Crane's Map Man TV programme. This revealed that, on all their maps, A–Z print a non-existent trap street so that they can tell if a map has been illegally copied from theirs, a technique used by several publishers of reference works (see fictitious entry). The story of Pearsall's development of the A–Z also inspired the 2014 musical The A–Z of Mrs P. It reignited a controversy about the extent of her role in the early years of the Geographers' Map Company. The London A–Z is a plot device in "The Blind Banker", the second episode of the first series of the BBC drama Sherlock when the protagonist is attempting to decipher a book code used by an international smuggling ring based on a book "everybody owns". After attempting to decipher the code using a dictionary and the Bible, Sherlock goes out into Baker Street and appropriates a copy of the A–Z after seeing it being used by a couple of tourists. Alternative rock band Vampire Weekend mentions using the A-Z to "surf the U.K." in their song "California English" from their 2010 album Contra.

See also The A–Z of Mrs P Geographers' A–Z Map Company Thomas Guide

External links Official website

References

Illustrations

Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas: The cover of the Authentic Map of London of 1957 — The cover of the Authentic Map of London of 1957

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas

In research: Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1936 establishments in England, Atlases, Maps of London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas in simple terms?

Why does Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas.