https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/11/13/furniture-trade-cards-of-old-london-i/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Tue, 14 Nov 2023 10:08:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/11/13/furniture-trade-cards-of-old-london-i/#comment-1527922 Tue, 14 Nov 2023 10:08:04 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198079#comment-1527922 This is very relevant for me because my father was a cabinet-maker whose workshop was always at the edge of the Spitalfields area. How sad that he did not live to see furniture-making so commemorated!

]]> https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/11/13/furniture-trade-cards-of-old-london-i/#comment-1527856 Mon, 13 Nov 2023 18:24:18 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=198079#comment-1527856 I imagine a little dusty toy theater, an old one, and there is a worn bit of striped cloth that serves as a curtain. Someone out of view wobbles some strings and the curtain comes UP, revealing a stage setting of a random interior. No paper characters appear. They’re still off-stage, striking their fixed poses. But tiny cut-out chairs, breakfronts, armoires, and curtain swags stand all about the stage. Some brilliant child has mounted some old trade cards onto cardboard and used scissors to fussy-cut the little furnishings. Each piece of scenery has gotten a little “stand up” tab, to hold it upright. There’s a lot of hushed whispering, behind the scenes. And everyone awaits the play.

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