Does the current London mayor know his barrow boys from his lovely sweet violets? John Metcalf’s charming London A to Z,from 1953, is a potent reminder of what is lost whether you let a city morph into a global currency reserveIf you are tired of period guides to London, or as I was saying to Dr Johnson the other day,you must be tired of life. Just hold a survey at John Metcalf’s London A to Z.
No, no that one. This slim volume, and recently rediscovered,is a guide to points of interest in the city, rather than a map. Entries run from ACHILLES STATUE (“One of the bigger, and bronzier,nuder of Victorian statues”) to ZEBRA CROSSING and ZOOS, brought to life with line drawings by Edward Bawden, and who also illustrated the book jacket. Published in 1953 to help the hordes of visitors descending on the British capital during the Queen’s coronation,it was always intended as an idiosyncratic rather than comprehensive guide.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com