London Shop Fronts Book Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Jo Hardy
I grew up in my local high street living above a shop ran by my parents, at that time the town was full of independent shops with living quarters above them, because of these early memories I have always had an interest in them and think these quirky, original shops bring the high street alive, bringing some much needed individuality to every shopping area. There is a famous quote by Napoleon “England is a nation of shopkeepers” and this book reinforces that statement.
This hard backed book is written by Rosie Hewitson with a forward by chef Asma Khan of Darjeeling Express and is packed full of colourful illustrations by Joel Holland. His first book was called NYC shop fronts and took shape due to him missing all the places he loved that he couldn’t visit during the Covid19 lockdown. This is the London version, described by the publishers as “A love letter to London’s most cherished shops”, it is lovely to look at, interesting to read and makes an unusual guide to the city. I also think it makes a lovely gift for anyone who lives in London or who loves to visit London. If you’ve already seen all the usual tourist attractions how about looking through this book and making a list of the shops that catch your eye and visiting them next time your in the city. It also makes a lovely coffee table book that your guests will have fun flicking through.
It doesn’t just feature shops it also show us lots of unique cafés, bars, restaurants and cinemas, I was very intrigued to see “ Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club” a place I have heard mentioned many times since my teenage years but never seen a picture of.
Wouldn’t you like to try the “Giggling Sausage“ Café for breakfast? or “Kiss the Hippo“ for coffee, there’s “Hatchards” founded in 1797 and is the UK’s oldest surviving bookshop and “James Smith and Son “Europe’s oldest umbrella shop which still has the original Victorian counters and makes many of the umbrellas by hand in their basement workshop.
My favourite of all is “The Victor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art and Natural History, featuring London’s only absinthe bar it come with the postscript “not for the faint hearted”, which makes me want to visit it even more. There are also the more iconic shops like Harrods and Fortnum and Masons which was the first retailer to stock Heinz Baked Beans way back in 1886.
The book is divided up into five areas just like the city and features some interesting back stories to all the properties featured, Café Diana has walls filled with photos of the late Princess Diana who it is said was a regular here when she lived close by in Kensington Palace.
This 176 page book is published by Prestel and has a recommended retail price of £ 19.99, available from Amazon.co.uk at the time of writing it was on a special offer price of £15.99.
Rating: 5/5
This product can be purchased from Amazon here.