Paris-London pocket itinerary from Ursula Pye collection is Object of the Month for December at Bishop’s Stortford Museum

One of Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Young Curators, Omar, has selected a Paris-London pocket itinerary from the Ursula Pye collection as Object of the Month for December

“I find that the itinerary is a remarkable piece of navigation history for several reasons,” says Omar.

“Firstly, its design. The face of the itinerary features a print of the de Havilland DH.34 biplane used to make the journey across the Channel, cutting journey times down from over seven hours by conventional boat or train to just over two hours by air.

“Upon opening the small itinerary is a unique fold-out map. The 340km air route (Croydon to Le Bourget) is demarcated by a dashed black line whilst river, road and railway alternatives are denoted in solid blue, red and black respectively.

“Secondly, its original owner, Ursula Pye, was one of the first passengers to travel on the post-First World War Imperial Airways, more notably so as a female. Pye signified how the Paris-London route made air travel more viable for a greater proportion of the general population, not just reserved to wealthy men.”

In its first year of operation, Imperial Airways carried 11,395 passengers and 212,380 letters.

The Ursula Pye collection, on the second floor of the museum, documents her life and includes a copy of her plane ticket from London to Paris.

This and previous objects of the month can be viewed on the first floor of the museum.

Young Curators is part-funded by the Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund.