The Tube has had a great year with visitors flocking to the capital for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and London 2012. Whether you’re a regular commuter or a weekend traveller, the underground system plays a part in all our lives connecting us quickly and smoothly (hopefully) with friends and a host of city attractions.

In 2013 London Underground, the world’s first underground railway, marks its 150th anniversary and to mark the event, its history is beautifully detailed in a new book, Underground – How the Tube Shaped London, the official anniversary publication of the London Underground.

Packed with iconic images – the Tube logo, maps, posters and architectural details, the book draws on previously unseen sources to celebrate the crucial role of the underground in the creation and everyday life of modern London.

Compiled by Sam Mullins, director of the London Transport Museum and two former head curators Oliver Green and David Bownes, this lavishly illustrated volume charts the Tube’s progress from north to south, east and west across the length and breadth of the metropolis and beyond.

The 260-page volume blends social history with the story of the pioneering engineers, designers, and social reformers who created the system, reflecting on the problems of keeping a fast growing city on the move. From providing access to the business heart of the Victorian City of London to the leisure delights of the Edwardian West End, through the growth of the suburbs and the vital role of the Underground as shelter during the Blitz, the story continues through urban regeneration to the challenge of upgrading the original network to meet the needs of the 21st Century and its daily march of more than four million users.

Every district has had a part to play. From the mid-1800s Eastern Counties Railway was already running a popular service between Loughton and London but was not fully incorporated into the Tube system until 1949 when it became part of the Central Line.

As a result, the eastern stations are largely less decorative than their northern counterparts where Charles Holden’s 1930s Piccadilly Line extension brought art deco elegance to Bounds Green and Wood Green. None the less, the east London Tube system has its share of landmarks, especially as a legacy of this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games and on station platforms, you’ll also find artwork depicting local historical references.

At Walthamstow the birthplace of William Morris, you’ll find June Black’s repetitive tile design echoes the famous artist’s work. Other commissioned tiles were by renowned graphic artists such as Hans Unger (Blackhorse Road and Seven Sisters), Tom Eckersley (Kings Cross and Euston) and Edward Bawden (Highbury) and many memorable tube posters were designed by Whitechapel artist Abram Games.

  • Underground – How the Tube Shaped London is published by Allan Lane, price £25 hardback. Details: www.penguin.co.uk