| Method | Lithograph with hand colour |
| Artist | Peele, Cecily |
| Published | Drawn by Cecily Peele, published by The Alley Workshops, Oxford [c. 1950] |
| Dimensions | 468 x 509 mm |
| Notes |
A scarce decorative mid-twentieth century caricature map of Oxford, in full early hand colour, with numerous notes and representations of the history of the City and University. On either side, the map is bordered by the crests of the Colleges, from Univ to the unusual chameleon crest of the Society of Home Students, the forerunner to St Anne's College. Above and below, the map features a long procession of 'Oxford Worthies,' from a Stone Age Man in top left to Lord Nuffield at bottom right, and including a host of famous faces, including, among others, Roger Bacon, Henry VIII, Walter Raleigh, Christopher Wren, Wesley, Shelley, Lewis Carroll and Alice, William Morris, and Lawrence of Arabia. A boxed key in the bottom right lists the colleges, while events and objects of note are included around the city, including the snakes head fritillary, the 'Oxford Dinosaur,' a mammoth, Chaucer and his fellow pilgrims, sportsmen in the University Parks, and the enigmatic 'Scholar Gypsy' on the banks of the Isis. The map's title is supported by Saint Frideswide and Saint Scholastica. Beatrice Cecilia Peele (1892-1984), usually signing her work as Cecily Peele or BCP, was a British caricaturist, mapmaker, stationer, and illustrator. In 1922 she opened the Alley Workshops on St Giles, Oxford, an emporium of gifts, stationary, toys, and handicrafts aimed predominantly at the University's growing number of female students. While at the Alley Workshops, she designed and published a number of caricatures, cards, and maps, including a caricature Map of Oxford's History with some of her Worthies, as well as a similar smaller scale example focussing on the City's scientific achievements for the British Medical Association. In addition to this, she was also the writer and illustrator of The Encyclopedia of British Bogies, a book of creatures from British folklore. Condition: Foxing and time toning to sheet. Four small pinholes in right and left margins, not affecting map. Blank on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £575.00 |
| Stock ID | 52830 |