Temporal Tidbits: Updates on Recent Time Machine Articles
Traffic lights, Poster Man, the Great Exhibition, John Rocque and the Fab Four.
Welcome to Londonist: Time Machine’s Friday newsletter… usually for paying subscribers but, as it’s a short one this week, I’ve eaten the paywall.
I’m off away for a few days again, to make the most of the dwindling summer holidays. So today’s article is a series of updates on recent stories, rather than a new topic.
There’s also no History Radar this week, as very few historically minded events seem to be taking place (this happens every summer). I’d just like to point you to a Keats in London event at the London Archives (28 Aug), exploring the poet’s London links. Also, note that booking has now opened for Open House (13-21 Sep). Most historic buildings are ‘just-turn-ups’, but a few of the more popular ones need booking.
Now, those updates…
London’s first traffic lights
Last week, I looked at the first set of traffic lights in the world, which were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in 1868. They were widely regarded as awful, and were removed within a year. That was that for several decades; no more traffic control other than the policeman’s hand signals. Or so I thought. Carol Morgan, archivist of the wonderful Institution of Civil Engineers, has been in touch to suggest that there might have been a follow-up.
This image is taken from the ‘view of London from a balloon' (1884), by William Wyllie. We’re looking at the self-same crossroads where the traffic light experiment had taken place 16 years earlier. As Carol points out, there’s a “weird vehicle which looks like a yacht on wheels with flags” right at the centre of the junction. Could it be some kind of successor to the traffic lights? I’ve looked for references to this curious obstruction without luck. We’d welcome thoughts in the comments below.
Anatomy of a Painting…
I’ve now published two articles digging into the historical references in old paintings (a series I’ll continue every month or so): William Hogarth’s March of the Guards to Finchley, and (this week) John Orlando Parry’s The Poster Man (below).
For the Poster Man, I speculated that the location might be on Bankside, using the appearance of St Paul’s and direction of the shadows as evidence. But reader Malcolm Verrall spotted a detail I missed. The cross on top of the cathedral can be seen in full, suggesting a view from the east or west (when viewed north or south, we see the cross only in profile). We can rule out a view from the west, because the cathedral’s two side-towers would be visible. So the scene must be to the east of St Paul’s, looking west — somewhere around Bank or Gracechurch Street. (This is all for fun, of course; Parry may not have been painting a real place at all.)
Also prompted by the Poster Man image, Torin Douglas, Director of the Chiswick Book Festival, got in touch to let me know about a remarkable painting that’s just been redisplayed at Chiswick House. Royal Garden Party at Chiswick by Louis William Desanges is an ensemble portrait of Queen Victoria and over 300 guests.
Her Majesty’s posse are not any old Toms, Dicks and Harriets. Half the Lords and Ladies of the land are assembled here in the grounds of Chiswick House, as well as the future Edward VII and George V. The details in this painting could take a lifetime to explore. Happily, Gillian Clegg has put together an overview, which includes the complete list of personnel. You can view the print for yourself by visiting Chiswick House and Gardens (an excellent day out, for many reasons).
Meanwhile, on the very day I sent out the ‘Poster Man’ newsletter, I stumbled across this modern montage of posters (mostly removed) in Kilburn Park Tube station:
I love the way that the woman’s face and beauty product have been left intact, while everything else has been stripped back to oblivion.
What’s left of the 1851 Great Exhibition?
About a year ago, I started a list of items from the Great Exhibition that can still be seen today. Turns out, there are loads of them, from ornamental fountains to ‘razor trees’. Now, a lavish new book explores the Victorian spectacle using paintings and illustrations from the time. The Great Exhibition in Art: Picturing the First World’s Fair, by Julius Bryant, digs into the V&A’s wodge of archive material to present over 150 images of the Crystal Palace and its contents. “It also highlights the ways in which contemporary artists were commissioned to depict and record the Exhibition’s building and displays for reproduction in commemorative publications.” Sounds like a must-have. It’s out in October from Lund Humphries, but you can pre-order now.
The London of the Beatles
A week ago, I looked at some of the lesser-known London sites connected with the Beatles. A few readers got in touch to suggest additions. My favourite, pointed out by Sanford S, is the building where the infamous ‘Butcher cover’ was created. The short-lived 1966 album cover saw the Fab Four draped in cuts of meat and decapitated baby dolls. Not a good look. The staged atrocity was photographed at 1 The Vale, just off King’s Road Chelsea.
Incidentally, there’s a big Beatles gig coming up. Not the original four, obviously, but a group of West End singers, who’ll come together in Bromley for a ‘Beatles by Candlelight’ show. The concert, on 27 August, will feature over 40 of the band’s classics.
Colouring in the John Rocque map of 1746
Part 11 of my mission to colourise all 24 panels of the John Rocque map is… in slow progress. The school holidays always set me back a little with these big projects. The next section, showing Georgian Westminster, Pimlico and a large chunk of Lambeth, will probably be ready some time towards the end of September. For now, here’s a low-res teaser of the (limited) progress so far. My god, look at all those trees I need to do!
Thanks for reading! I’m away again next week, catching up with family, but I have a superb guest post lined up for the Wednesday newsletter.
Have a good holiday with the family Matt .
I can see why they pulled the "Butcher" cover- no rock band wants to be accused of murdering babies...