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N1

2001

Rene Hair Fashions

Rene Hair Fashions, 111 Essex Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Classic 1960s weatherboard sign with 071 number. It disappeared soon after, and by 2017 the unit housed […]
Rene Hair Fashions

2003

Medcalf

Medcalf, 40 Exmouth Market, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2003 • Traditional butcher in the process of being turned into a trendy eaterie, which kept the name and signage. That […]
Medcalf

2002

Balti Raj

Balti Raj, 142 Balls Pond Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Ah, the colourful confusion of London. By 2016 was the trendier-sounding Rusty Bike Kitchen.
Balti Raj

2010

Tony’s Hemp Corner

Tonys Hemp Corner, 10 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2010 • Creepy flower-child fascia for controversial cannabis cafe whose proprietor Tony Taylor supplied ‘medicinal’ marijuana to nearly 300 […]
Tony’s Hemp Corner

2016

Subway (Angel)

Subway, 69 Chapel Market, Islington, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2016 • Boring fast food chain, lovely old door window. Actually I like the Subway logo, it’s an exuberant piece […]
Subway (Angel)

2012

Sew Fantastic!, Tintype

Sew Fantastic!, Tintype, 107 Essex Road, Islington, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2012 and 2016 • Grubby but grand Sew Fantastic (top pic) is now scrubbed clean as Tintype art gallery (second pic). The punters […]
Sew Fantastic!, Tintype

2016

S. Cohen

S. Cohen, 2 White Conduit Street, Islington, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2016 • No name for the second-hand shop, but the original costumier’s facade is still proudly showing.
S. Cohen

2012

W.G. Miller

W.G. Miller, 93-95 Essex Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2012 • The kind of funeral parlour that does horse-drawn hearses. This handsome black facade would have been traditional even when […]
W.G. Miller

2002

L. Lambert

L. Lambert, 23-25 Hoxton Street, Borough of Hackney, London N1, 2002 (top), 2011 (bottom) • Ex-timber merchant with ‘JFB 1892’ etched into the concrete brackets. By 2002 it was closed down, […]
L. Lambert

2002

Julia’s Emporium

Julia’s Emporium, circa 10 Islington Green, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Sadly Islington Green’s too expensive for Tarot reading shops now. It’s totally disappeared – I think it’s the […]
Julia’s Emporium

2002

Monet

Monet, 144 Balls Pond Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Crimping companion for Picasso and Renoir. Still looks fairly similar, but is now called The Parlour.
Monet

2002

Cosmo

Cosmo, 182 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 & 2012 • Ah, the static world of the traditional barber. I photographed this in 2002 (top) and 2012 (bottom) and […]
Cosmo

2002

The Beano Cafe

The Beano Cafe, 6 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 & 2003 • A tale of Kings Cross: in the course of a year, the Beano edged from decaying […]
The Beano Cafe

2002

Celine

Celine, 293 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Giant and elegant patisserie logo, somewhat at odds with the cartoony “perfect spud” underneath. It later got covered by a […]
Celine

2013

The 3 Crowns

The 3 Crowns, 8 East Road, Borough of Hackney, London N1, 2013 • Nicely-tiled Shoreditch pub which appears to have been rescued by hipsters in mid-destruction. There’s a picture of how […]
The 3 Crowns

2010

Call Saver

Call Saver, 20 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2010 • A colourful closure; there’s a great pic of the premises open here. 
Call Saver

2002

Adam & Eve

Adam & Eve, 90 Balls Pond Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Groovy curly type for a biblical name – note fig leaf. It was still there in 2008, […]
Adam & Eve

2011

Food & Wine

Food & Wine, 49 Upper Street, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2011 • Colourful generic minimart with oversized finials suggesting a grander past.
Food & Wine

2004

H. Snuggs & Co.

H. Snuggs & Co. (Trafik), 331 Old Street, Borough of Hackney, London N1, 2004 • The superbly-named H. (aka Henry) Snuggs bowed out in 1899  – there’s a contemporary report in […]
H. Snuggs & Co.

2002

Videovent Ltd.

Videovent Ltd., 124 Essex Road, Borough of Isligton, London N1, 2002 • To the right of yesterday’s Wools was this sad example of the decline of camera shops; it’s now a […]
Videovent Ltd.

2002

Wools

Wools, 124 Essex Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • The building has been renovated into flats, and this became simply… a door. Albeit one sandwiched between Food City and a Pound Stop.
Wools

2004

Refreshments

Refreshments, 12-16 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1, Borough of Islington, 2004 • Ghost sign for a long-gone cafe; it’s still there today, but now above a large Nandos.
Refreshments

2003

Abcat Cine Club

Abcat Cine Club, 72 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2003 & 2010 • Still extant “adult” venue from decreasingly seedy Kings Cross: note net curtain update between […]
Abcat Cine Club

2003

E.T. Baker

E.T. Baker, 76 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2003 • Mysterious, long-lasting facade with a beautiful “Brilliant” glass-and-gold sign (see detail).
E.T. Baker

2012

Gardner & Finch

Gardner & Finch, 70 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2012 • Quali y Butch r – a classic old  frontage at the letters-falling-off stage. By 2017 it still looked […]
Gardner & Finch

2003

Zak’s Snacks

Zak’s Snacks , 48 Rosebery Avenue, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2003 • Now a generic fast food place with the far less poetic name of Mix Grill.
Zak’s Snacks

2002

The Tyre Shop

The Tyre Shop, 100 Balls Pond Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • Not a tyre in sight, but a nice hand-crafted two-tone paint job. Later became an office of […]
The Tyre Shop

2003

Rheidol Rooms

Rheidol Rooms, 16 Rheidol Terrace, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2003 • Another Pepsi cafe. Apparently still there, but somewhat repainted and without the venetian blinds.
Rheidol Rooms