London
No clickbait, no crappy reviews. This is the city we live in
Fair Game? The Hunters & Gatherers of Photography
The term paparazzi was first coined in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita and is a contraction of pappataci (mosquitos) and ragazzi (guys)...
Mah-Jongg of Eltham Palace: Victim of Vogue?
Whether you moved in the arty and bohemian circles of Paris, London or New York, or lived in the White House, you wanted to be seen with an unconventional pet – the more exotic the better…
Burberry Flagship Store: Cinema & Skeuomorphs
I came across the history of the Burberry flagship store in a likewise ostentatious setting: the White Cube gallery in Bermondsey. Its cold, grandiose...
Feculence & Gully-holes: London's Lost Rivers
Alongside tube lines, plague pits, and Roman Walls, the remains of London’s rivers still flow beneath the capital. These rivers are everywhere, underfoot...
London Skyscrapers: Tall Buildings, Low Morals
London is no Manhattan when it comes to skyscrapers. Our versions appear slight, mere toothpicks in comparison to NYC superstructures. But while the US...
Chained Libraries in Chelsea
There are now only a handful of chained libraries left across Europe, a vanishing reminder that for most of human history the written word was expensive…
Watkins Books: A Spell of Black Magic
Tucked away on a side street near Leicester Square, Watkins Books’ strange history is disguised by the same respectable green-fronted exterior as...
Dead Wives and Dentistry: Martin Van Butchell
Today Martin Van Butchell is remembered for his decision to embalm his wife Mary and display her corpse in his waiting room to entice potential clients...