Contemporary Local Street Guides?

[Guest]

Hello folks,

Ive been looking around to see if I can find out whether or not there would have been street/route/ maps of the roads, streets and alleys of Whitechapel available to the average local resident at that time. Something very granular, like with individual alley names, and maybe signifigant addresses shown on some streets. Something that a recently immigrated man or woman could use to find lodgings, laundry, markets, perhaps even based on the ethnicity of the immigrant.

Does anyone know of a pamplet, which is I suppose a more accurate description, with such information that was available? Would Arbeter Fraint offer something like that in its publications? Local Socialist friendly locations, or something to that effect.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Best regards

[The Grave Maurice]

Good luck with that request. I've been looking for a source like that for yonks. The closest thing in a contempory book I've found is Dickens's Dictionary of London 1888 (available in reprint) which has some very good maps in the front. No alleys, though. I suppose that people who could afford maps in 1888 weren't much interested in alleys.

[miss marple]

Old ordinance survey maps of London. Whitechapel no 63 1873 and 1894. Published by Alan Godfrey Maps. They are a couple of pounds, website www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk. Also availble in Stanfords Covent Garden.
They are totally invaluable to anyone interested in LVP.
Miss Marple

[Sam Flynn]

Something that a recently immigrated man or woman could use to find lodgings, laundry, markets, perhaps even based on the ethnicity of the immigrant.

That would likely have been "Word of mouth", Mike. I don't see that fine-grained detail would have been of much use to the newcomer, given that the alleys and courts didn't have much going for them, apart from rats.

[Robert]

A Jewish friend told me that her ancestor walked round Whitechapel for two or three days and nights before he realised that he wasn't in America after all.