From Bedsitter to Household Name (1990, signed first edition)

Signed by Phyllis Pearsall, the creator of the A-Z London atlas

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition, first printing. Hardback in dustwrapper. 24.5 × 17cm, 205pp.

Signed with warm personal dedication to the ffep by Phyllis Pearsall.

Phyllis Pearsall’s autobiography offers a pragmatic and witty look at the creation, development and rise of the London A–Z atlas. Blending personal memoir with business history, the book covers her father’s influence as a map publisher, the meticulous drafting and indexing of 23,000 London streets, and her bold decision to self-publish in 1936 after major houses rejected the prototype. Beyond the legendary stories—such as wheelbarrowing initial copies to W.H. Smith—Pearsall details navigating WWII paper rationing and Ministry of Information duties, expanding the A–Z brand nationwide, and pioneering a distinctively unconventional, non-hierarchical corporate culture that culminated in handing majority ownership of the Geographers' Map Company over to her employees.

Condition

This copy is in very good condition, with some sunning to the dustwrapper at the spine and rear, but remaining in very good order.

ISBN

9780850392432