Samuel Herbert Maw
Samuel Herbert Maw (September 12, 1881 – August 19, 1952) was a British-Canadian architect, delineator and cartographer. Samuel Herbert Maw was born in the English county of Suffolk, he learned architecture in England and found success there as a delineator before emigrating to Canada in 1912. In Toronto, he worked for Darling & Pearson, a leading architectural firm, until 1918.
Samuel Herbert Maw

Samuel Herbert Maw · Archives de Montréal · Public domain
- Name
- Samuel Herbert Maw
- Born
- 12 September 1881
- Birthplace
- Needham Market, Suffolk, England
- Died
- 19 August 1952
- Place of death
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Occupation
- Architect, delineator, cartographer
- Known for
- The City of Quebec (1932) La Cité de Montréal (1942)
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland · Canada
- Education
- Ackworth School
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Samuel Herbert Maw (September 12, 1881 – August 19, 1952) was a British-Canadian architect, delineator and cartographer. Samuel Herbert Maw was born in the English county of Suffolk, he learned architecture in England and found success there as a delineator before emigrating to Canada in 1912. In Toronto, he worked for Darling & Pearson, a leading architectural firm, until 1918.
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wikidata · Q91519011 · wikipedia · Samuel Herbert Maw
In this article
Biography
Biography
During that time, he also worked on his own designs. In 1923, Maw moved to Montreal, where he collaborated with Philip J. Turner on St. Phillip's Anglican Church in Montreal West. In 1937, while back in Toronto, he worked on the design of the then Toronto Stock Exchange (now home to the Design Exchange), a notable Art Deco building. Besides his architectural work, Maw found success as a cartographer, starting in 1929 when he published a pictorial map of the St. In 1932, he published The City of Quebec, an intricate hand-drawn map of Quebec City with historical notes. It was reproduced thousands of times and led him to be commissioned to draw This Is Canada, a booklet of maps to commemorate the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The original folio was gifted to the king by prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. In 1942, the tercentenary of Montreal, he published La Cité de Montréal, a map of the city in the style of The City of Quebec. Maw died in Toronto in 1952 at the age of 70.

Samuel Herbert Maw, photographed for the January 1936 issue of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal
Journal de Québec

Pictorial map of Quebec City by Samuel Herbert Maw, 1932
Samuel Herbert Maw · Journal de Québec
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Samuel Herbert Maw • Born — 12 September 1881 • Birthplace — Needham Market, Suffolk, England • Died — 19 August 1952 • Place of death — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Occupation — Architect, delineator, cartographer • Known for — The City of Quebec (1932) La Cité de Montréal (1942) • Notable Works — Toronto Stock Exchange St. Philip's Church (Montreal-West)
Early life and career
Early life and career
Samuel Herbert Maw was born in Needham Market, Suffolk, England on September 12, 1881. As a child, he attended Ackworth School in West Yorkshire. He went on to informally study architecture under John S. Dorden in Ipswich, Suffolk, before moving to London to continue his training under Edward William Mountford, a prominent Edwardian architect. There, he learned the skills of technical and artistic drawing, engraving and etching. In 1905, his drawings won him the Soane Medallion, bestowed by the Royal Institute of British Architects and named after architect John Soane. A travelling scholarship, the distinction allowed him to travel across Western Europe to further his training. In 1909, his work was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Work in Canada
Work in Canada
• Illustration — Etching by Maw of Montreal's Sun Life Building, designed by Darling & Pearson (1917 or 1924) Maw emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1912, after a brief period working in New York City. He joined a leading architectural firm, Darling & Pearson, and drew architectural delineations of the firm's commissions at the request of Frank Darling. During that period, he also worked on his own architectural designs and submitted them in competitions. Maw left Darling & Pearson in 1918 to work in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1923, he moved to Montreal, Quebec to work in the office of Philip J. Turner, with whom he designed St. Phillip's Anglican Church in Montreal West. In 1925, he began practicing alone. In 1926, he joined the firm Ross & Macdonald, where he likely served as a designer and delineator on the project of Toronto's Royal York Hotel. After his time there, he returned to Toronto. In 1929, Maw published a pictorial map of the St. Lawrence Estuary, from Quebec City to Gaspesia, commissioned by the province of Quebec's tourism office. In 1932, he achieved further recognition as a cartographer when he published The City of Quebec, an intricate and colourful map of Quebec City which he had begun working on in 1926. The map, which features detailed drawings of individual buildings and informative text on the history of the city, evokes the style of the Wonderground Map (1914) of London by MacDonald Gill. It was reproduced thousands of times and sold to visitors of Quebec City for nearly three decades. • Illustration — The Toronto Stock Exchange in 1973, before becoming the Design Exchange In 1937, he collaborated as an associate architect with George & Moorhouse on what was then the Toronto Stock Exchange, now known as the Design Exchange. It is considered a notable specimen of Art Deco architecture in North America. Following the popularity of The City of Quebec, Maw was commissioned to draw This Is Canada, a booklet of maps of each Canadian province to commemorate the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the first visit of North America by the reigning British monarch. The original folio was gifted to King George by Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. • Illustration — La Cité de Montréal (1942) In 1940, Maw began teaching Architectural Rendering and Perspective at McGill University in Montreal. However, as World War II unfolded, he soon left Montreal for Ottawa, where he worked for the Department of National Defence, making use of his engineering background. In 1942, on the tercentenary of Montreal, Maw published La Cité de Montréal, a map of Montreal in the same style as The City of Quebec. Its historical accuracy was ensured by notary, politician and historian Victor Morin. The original drawing was exhibited in the concourse of Montreal's Windsor Station for several months. In 1944, Maw published a map of Ottawa commissioned by the city itself. He died in Toronto on August 19, 1952, at the age of 70.
Identity
Identity
Samuel Herbert Maw is recorded as painter, draftsperson, architect, cartographer and printmaker.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1881
Samuel Herbert Maw born at Needham Market.
1952
Samuel Herbert Maw died at Toronto.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Needham Market.
Birth place
Toronto.
Death place
Catalogued output
Works and catalogued output
Century of Progress Exposition, Travel, and Transport Building, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective is dated c.
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Samuel Herbert Maw stands. United States Post Office, Chicago, Illinois, Elevation is dated c.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q91519011: Samuel Herbert MawWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
4,138 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Samuel MiddimanEngraver
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- Samuel NobleEngraver
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