Popular Cafe

Popular Cafe, 85 Lever Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2013 • Once popular, here closed down and up for sale. It was soon back in business as before (repainted, […]

Cafe Restaurant

Cafe Restaurant, 25 St Cross Street, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2001 • Wonderful old Italian caff shot with dreadful old digital camera – both long gone. According to a […]

Late Bland (M&R Meats)

Late Bland (M&R Meats), 399 St John Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2002 • Tiled ghost sign on traditional butcher. By 2014 it was called Turner & George.

The Imperial Pearl Co

The Imperial Pearl Co, 24 Hatton Garden, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2004 and 2012 • Neon sign in London’s faded jewellery quarter. Presumably it’s named after Imperial China, as […]

Stretched Fabric Systems

Stretched Fabric Systems, 68a Compton Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2008 • Not sure what this means, but now it’s gone: by 2012 it was Whistle Dry Cleaners.

Tasty Café

Tasty Café, 72 St John Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2013 • Surely the greatest generic name of them all. Features somewhat unenthusiastically on Classic Cafes, while Food Urchin describes […]

Personal Jesus

Personal Jesus sign, outside Shoreditch Grind, 213 Old Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2013 • Sign outside trendy coffee shop Shorditch Grind at London’s grotty mini tech hub, Old Street Roundabout.

Georges & Co. clock

Georges & Co. clock, 88-90 Hatton Garden, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2004 • I got hassled by security guards while snapping this in Hatton Garden, London’s diamond district. It’s […]

H+C clock

H+C clock, 159-173 St John Street, Clerkenwell, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2007 • And another 1950s-style Clerkenwell clock, advertising lift manufacturers Hammond & Champness, who inhabited this building until at least […]

EuroSensor clock

EuroSensor clock, 20-24 Kirby Street, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2004 • Another period gem from Clerkenwell: EuroSensor was a big technical firm that occupied the building in the area’s pre-gentrification days. Threatened […]

Nameless wall clock

Nameless wall clock, side of 85 Clerkenwell Road, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2011 • For decades this giant octagonal clock rusted away high above Clerkenwell, but now it’s been […]

Crowson & Sons Ltd

Crowson & Sons Ltd, 17-23 Farringdon Road, City of London, London EC1, 2004 • Nice mid-century building (note tiny replacement ‘s’ on ‘Sons’) selling fancy cheeses no more; it was knocked down […]

Evans & Witt

Evans & Witt, 58 Long Lane, Smithfield, City of London, EC1, 2004 • Purveyor of stationery supplies to the meat trade. Still there, along with conjoined neighbour Smithfield Cafe, featured yesterday.

Smithfield Cafe

Smithfield Cafe, 59 Long Lane, Smithfield, City of London, EC1, 2004 • 24-hour pit-stop for Smithfield’s traders and, more recently, hipsters. I think it’s still there, though the area is changing swiftly. […]

Catering Meats (Smithfield)

Catering Meats (Smithfield), 308 London Central Markets, Smithfield, Charterhouse Street, London EC1, City of London, 2004 • A more utilitarian but no less period Smithfied frontage than yesterday’s. This one’s […]

Edmund Martin Ltd

Edmund Martin Ltd, 3 Lindsey Street, Smithfield, City of London, EC1, 2004 • Sigh, you don’t see many tripe dressers around these days. It’s now a giant hole in the […]

H.F. & G.W. Smith (Breese Little)

H.F. & G.W. Smith (Breese Little), 30d Great Sutton Street, Clerkenwell, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2013 • Trendy gallery Breese Little appropriating a previous owner’s more prosaic title.

Venus Pizza

Venus Pizza, 149 Whitecross Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2008 • Those Roman gods certainly live on, longer than this takeaway at least. This colourful old bit of  road got […]

Casa Italiana S. Vincenzo Pallotti

Casa Italiana S. Vincenzo Pallotti, 136 Clerkenwell Road, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2011 • An Italian community centre, whose tiny tinselled sign says “Buon natale e felice anno nuovo”. It’s […]

Wishes Galore

Wishes Galore, 17 Leather Lane, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2001 • Cute typeface, but I’m not sure I’d want my wishes fulfilled here. Now a dry cleaners-cum-phone shop

Clerkenwell Screws

Clerkenwell Screws, 109 Clerkenwell Rd, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2004 • Another esteemed purveyor of screws, unchanged to this day (including the scrubbed-out lettering).

Barbican Grill

Barbican Grill, 117 Whitecross Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2002 • Classic cafe from Barbican’s proletarian past, now a posh grey office of some sort.

RM The Company Shop

RM The Company Shop, 81 City Road, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2002 • Forget the Virgin Islands, I’d happily run my company from this impressive-looking HQ. Except I can’t, because […]

Lloyd & Son

Lloyd & Son, 42 Amwell Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2004 • High class dairy pictured open in 1978 here. From 2007-2012 it became organic grocery Unpackaged, who retained the frontage, albeit looking […]

James Gubb

James Gubb, 85 Leather Lane, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2011 • Superb old-fashioned butcher with superb old-fashioned name, still going strong.

Dominic’s Take Away

Dominic’s Take Away, 172 Goswell Road, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2008 & 2013 (bottom) • Dominic should have tried taking away some of those wires. (2013 update, bottom – oh, he […]

C.R. Frost & Son

C.R. Frost & Son, 60-62 Clerkenwell Road, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2002 • One of Clerkenwell’s many lost watch and clock businesses, this later became a tile showroom.

Fastway Fliers

Fastway Fliers, 301 Old Sreeet, Borough of Hackney, London EC1, 2002 • Some unusual, and appropriate, Letragraphica type. Later became Cay Tre Vietnamese Kitchen.

Frake’s Ltd Mace

Frake’s Ltd Mace, 51 Leather Lane, Borough of Camden, London EC1, 2001 & 2013 (bottom) • There’s something so quintessentially 1950s about this Mace sign. By 2013 all the black letters […]

K.T. Andrews (London) Ltd.

K.T. Andrews (London) Ltd., 404 St John Street, Borough of Islington, London EC1, 2002 • 404 not found: this became half a Pret a Manger.