RIVER THAMES.

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Evans' Wharf Map of the River Thames, Showing all the Wharves Between Nine Elms & Barking. First edition, documenting the river and the trade it facilitated at the turn of the 20th century. Evans's map and index (published in 1905) record the locations, owners, and businesses associated with each wharf, and was released four years before the creation of the Port of London Authority. We have traced one institutional copy, at the National Archives.As trade and commerce into London grew over the 19th century, the wharves along the Thames became increasingly important. However, as there was no central authority and each wharf was owned by a different business, merchants and sailors required detailed guides to both the physical and human geography of the river. Evans worked for the Erith and Dartford Lighterage Company, a shipping agent established in 1898 and incorporated in 1902. Alongside details of who owned each wharf, his index also includes records of high and low water times, tables of distances, and a list of moorings. This copy was perhaps used as a reference for foreign ships. There is a loosely inserted typescript letter in French sent by the General Steam Navigation Company on 19 August 1910 to one Jules Lagache, referencing the map and giving him information on navigating the Thames.Also included is the presumed first edition (1896) of the navigation byelaws for Tower Bridge, opened in 1894. This pamphlet details the visual and audible signals that ships must use at

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