G. Smith & Sons, 74 Charing Cross Road, City of Westminster, London WC2, 2011 • I thought this ancient snuff specialist would always be there, but it closed unceremoniously in 2011 with a bailiff’s notice. “Established in 1869, it was the first licensed tobacconist on this strip and its site can legally only house a tobacconist” said Time Out in 1999, adding that the smoking ban hadn’t hurt business. However the snuff cognoscenti said it had been running down since proprietor Vivien Rose (male) retired and new owners stepped in circa 2007 – there’s an interesting thread here. It was replaced by purveyors of waistcoat jewellery Andy & Tuly, but can still be seen open in 2008 on Google Street View.
Shopfront Elegy 
A preservation order (or some such) should have been slapped on this place to prevent the superb signage being obliterated *sobs* (or maybe it’s preserved underneath?)
Yes, it’s amazing it was allowed to go. The new frontage is very basic, we can only hope the glass is still underneath.
Thank goodness most sign fitters don’t usually bother stripping off what’s beneath 🙂
What does it look like today? I hope that what was there is preserved under any new signage.
Hi Lee. It looks terrible today. Can’t believe they were allowed to change it.