Maps of London and Beyond

A spectacular, large-format collection of Adam Dant’s fine art maps giving a unique view of our history and life today.Artist and cartographer Adam Dant surveys London’s past, present and future from his studio in the East End. Beautiful, witty and subversive, his astonishing maps offer a compelling view of history, lore, language and life in the capital and beyond.Traversed by a plethora of colourful characters including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mary Wollstonecraft and Barbara Windsor, Adam Dant’s maps extend from the shipwrecks on the bed of the Thames to the stars in the sky over Soho. Along the way, he captures all the rich traditions in the capital, from brawls and buried treasure to gin and gentlemen’s clubs.

Accompanying text by the artist gives the background to each of the handsome cartographic artworks, revealing his inspirations and artistic process and outlining his cultural allusions. Reproduced in large format, the maps invite the reader to study all the astonishing and often hilarious details within, offering hours of fascination for the curious.

Published in conjunction with the Spitalfields Life blog, Maps of London & Beyond includes an extensive interview with Adam Dant by the blog’s founder The Gentle Author.

'Quite simply this is one of the most remarkable books I have come across' - Book Review - The Cultural Voyager ||

‘The artist has a keen eye for pop culture and absurdity, which gives each artwork an unexpected zing’ - World of Interiors - Matthew Oldham ||

‘This book will provide even the most unaccustomed of map readers with hours of entertainment and intrigue’ - Independent ||

‘This rather wonderful synthesis of cartography, art and social comment is both beautiful and intriguing ... It’s a book to pick up again and again for the joy of discovering new angles and details.’ - Art Book Review - Henry MaltAdam Dant studied at the Royal College of Art, London and the MS University Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, India. He creates dense, elaborate narrative drawings that examine and depict public contemporary life, space, mythologies and histories. These works are thoroughly researched, with the artist drawing on a deep well of historical and visual sources to create his wittily perceptive detailed drawings. Dant lives and works in London.

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The Gentle Author writes daily about the culture of East London for the blog Spitalfields Life www.spitalfieldslife.com, covering a variety of topics, from criminals and street life to culinary delights.