The Illustrated London News Election Map. The Electoral Battlefield at a Glance: Candidates and Constituencies.

London, 1906. Lithographed map, 78.5 x 56 cm, printed in colours, a couple of short splits along the folds, blank verso, ink library stamps to verso. A striking example of data visualisation, our election map was published as a supplement to the 13 January 1906 issue of the Illustrated London News, in advance of a landslide Liberal victory. Within each circle is the name of the constituency, voting strength, names of the candidates and the majority and name of the successful party at the previous election (represented in either red or blue, a circle or octagon). The map is packed with information which could be tallied off with the results as they came in. The margin features a race game, 'the race for a majority', a form of proto-swingometer which could be detached and pinned to a wall, with figures to be moved point by point as the results come in. The map is by Alfred Hugh Fisher (1867-1945). Trained as an artist, engraver and printmaker, and also a published poet, for a brief period between 1907 and 1910 Fisher also travelled extensively as a photographer for the Visual Instruction Committee of the Colonial Office, working under the supervision of pioneering geographer Sir Halford Mackinder. Map