It is possible to determine a date range for publication due to the following: On all A–Z maps, there is a three or four letter code in one of the corners, often the one containing the key.

In one scheme, the letters JIHGFEDCBA represent the digits 1 to 9 and 0, so that HFD would be 357, indicating a publication date of March 1957.

[4] The Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas and the story of how Phyllis Pearsall came to write the first edition covering London were featured in a 2005 episode of Nicholas Crane's Map Man TV programme.

The story of Pearsall's development of the A–Z also inspired the 2014 musical The A–Z of Mrs P. It reignited a controversy about the extent of her role in the early years of the Geographers' Map Company.

After attempting to decipher the code using a dictionary and the Bible, Sherlock goes out into Baker Street and appropriates a copy of the A–Z after seeing it being used by a couple of tourists.