This handsome book celebrates the wealth of Art Deco buildings we thankfully still have in London -125 are shown here – reflecting our role as the epicentre of this interwar style
With a few exceptions the book is of exteriors (Perhaps interiors will be next?) lovingly photographed by Franco a Swiss photographer who has made London his home this last 32 years. Endearingly he explains that this book was made possible by his Over 60s Travel card. Fittingly as the growth of London Transport coincided with the movement reflected in its original HQ of 55 Broadway. SW1H 0BD. I give the full address here as ingeniously this is how the Author has chosen to arrange his photos: alphabetically by postcode– Possibly a first he muses. This works but what doesn’t is that there are no page numbers so that locating a building on the map provided requires a shuffle through other photos. Not an unpleasant task in itself but rendering it frustrating as a reference book.
What this searching highlights is the various manifestations from the sedate austerity of Senate House WC1E 7HU to the arabesque styling of the Egyptian Carreras Cigarette Building NW1 2JE and all variants in between.
For lovers of Art Deco (That’s me but not my wife!) This beautifully illustrated book with short biographical text serves as a timely reminder of the quality & appeal of this most modern of styles.
