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Eleanor Crow’s Shopfronts Of London

August 4, 2019
by the gentle author

Seven years have passed since we first presented Eleanor Crow’s beautiful watercolours of East End shops in these pages and I am delighted to announce that Spitalfields Life Books is now publishing a handsome hardback collection of them SHOPFRONTS OF LONDON, In Praise of Small Neighbourhood Shops in collaboration with Batsford Books.

You can preorder to support publication and you will receive a signed copy in the first week of September. Click here to preorder for £14.99

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At a time of momentous change in the high street, Eleanor’s witty and fascinating personal survey champions the enduring culture of Britain’s small neighbourhood shops.

As our high streets decline into generic monotony, we cherish the independent shops and family businesses that enrich our city with their characterful frontages and distinctive typography.

Eleanor’s collection includes more than hundred of her watercolours of the capital’s bakers, cafés, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, chemists, launderettes, hardware stores, eel & pie shops, bookshops and stationers. Her pictures are accompanied by the stories of the shops, their history and their shopkeepers – stretching from Chelsea in the west to Bethnal Green and Walthamstow in the east.

We guarantee you will recognise many of the shops in Eleanor’s book and we publish a selection of her favourite ironmongers below.

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Eleanor Crow at E. Pellicci by Colin O’Brien

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Daniel Lewis & Son Ltd, Hackney Rd

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C W Tyzack, Kingsland Rd

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Bernardes Trading Ltd, Barking Rd

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Bradbury’s, Broadway Market

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Chas Tapp, Southgate Rd

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Emjay Decor, Bethnal Green Rd

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General Woodwork Supplies, Stoke Newington High St

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Diamond Ladder Factory, Lea Bridge Rd

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Farringdon Tool Supplies, Exmouth Market

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Histohome, Stoke Newington High St

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KAC Hardware, Church St

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Leyland SDM, Balls Pond Rd

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KTS the Corner, Kingsland Rd

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Mix Hardware, Blackstock Rd

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City Hardware, Goswell Rd

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Travis Perkins, Kingsland Rd

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SX, Essex Rd

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CLICK HERE TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY FOR £14.99

10 Responses leave one →
  1. Jill Wilson permalink
    August 4, 2019

    Beautifully detailed drawings and a great celebration of small shops and their quirky selection of merchandise.

    I love a good ironmongers shop and have been a frequent buyer in them ever since the rabbit hutch making days of my childhood, and I particularly like the ones run by men in brown overalls who really know their stuff.

    Long may they continue to thrive in competition to the soulless DIY mega stores…

  2. Bernie permalink
    August 4, 2019

    Very nostalgic! Tyzack is a name I well remember from my days living in Stoke Newington (1930’s to 1950’s) and travelling up and down Kingsland Road. I wonder whether it is the same premises now as then! What about Cakebread Robey on the corner of Tyssen Road? Another name to remember!

  3. August 4, 2019

    Lovely watercolours. Small shops are the life of a neighbourhood. Shopping centers are one of man’s most boring inventions.

  4. Helen Breen permalink
    August 4, 2019

    Greetings from Boston,

    GA, I enjoyed reviewing Elinor Crow’s delightful storefronts of London – such details. We have one such surviving hardware store in our next town. Going in there takes me back decades, especially at holiday time.

    But things change, eh? What you describe as the “generic monotony” of high street retailers is now being seriously challenged by online sales. Who knows how this will play out?

    Best of luck with your book.

  5. Judith Haxton permalink
    August 4, 2019

    Beautiful !!!

  6. August 4, 2019

    Very fine illustrations — congratulation!

    Love & Peace
    ACHIM

  7. August 4, 2019

    Lovely drawings — and, may I say, an echo of the long-ago “High Street” illustrations. In the US we still have old-time hardware stores replete with bouncy wooden floors, rolling ladders, shelving full of mysterious/wonderful things, pot bellied stoves, and knowledgeable sales people eager to help out with a project or “chew the fat”. Peanuts-in-the-shell and popcorn (and lollipops for the kids) welcome people to come in and stay awhile. NO big-box cavernous home improvement store (no matter how well-equipped) will ever replace that experience.

  8. Saba permalink
    August 4, 2019

    Great compositions and an eye for patterns! Bravo!

  9. Pamela Traves permalink
    August 5, 2019

    Wonderful Paintings of these Stores. She is an Amazing Painter.

  10. Warren Yates permalink
    August 5, 2019

    Reminds me of Mr.Ben, lovely.

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