‘It deserves to be called iconic’: London tube map creator’s archive goes up for sale

Designer Harry Beck's famous transport diagram, first published in 1933, has spawned imitators around the world

Harry Beck may not have a London Underground line named after him as Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth have, but there is a plaque on a platform at Finchley Central, once his local stop, that marks his legacy: the design of the tube map.

And this autumn, as a new play about him called The Truth about Harry Beck entertains London audiences, an exhibition will allow the public to see some rare and valuable original examples of his work.