#paternoster row

Decorative Sunday: Gems from A.L. Bond

This week we highlight the chromolithographic illustrations of Anne Lydia Bond,set as frames for three poems—the “gems” of Three Gems in One Setting, published by W. Kent & Co.in 1860 on London’s Paternoster Row. David Brand printed the images, and Leighton Son and Hodge bound the work in a gold blocked cover.

The three texts are “Poet’s Song” by Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), “Field Flowers” by Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), and “Pilgrim Fathers” by Felicia Hemans (1793-1835).

See more Decorative Sunday posts!

--Amanda, Special Collections Graduate Intern

@green-love-paternosterbless

send me a character and i’ll tell you

their blog url commander-strax-and then his sontaron clone id and batch number, or however sontarans would identify themselves- a very literal url

the kind of posts they reblogOh he’d definitely accidentally stumble into that weird borderline-scary-pseudo-conservative, very pro-gun, pro-military side of tumblr where people rant about the glory of serving their country and he would be emotionally moved by those posts and post very similar things and believe that’s just how people communicate on this website- long rants about war and the pride of being a soldier

the first person they followed 

          well jenny got involved by clara, who at a certain point was encouraging all of the doctor’s friends to use social media.  strax learned by looking over jenny’s shoulder and now he uses social media platforms more than jenny, who’s life was too busy to use it on a regular basis. the first person he followed was probably miss clara.

what kind of theme they’d havethat one that looks like the steampunk mechanical levers and pullies OR he has jenny code him a custom one that looks more like a Sontaran communications screen

Typography Tuesday

Today we present our most recent acquisition, Printing for Business: A Manual of Printing Practice in Non-Technical Idiom, by Joseph Thorp and published in London by John Hogg in 1919. We show Thorp’s graphic description of the use of type in fine production works, from creating type faces from punch and matrix to hand composition, proofing the galley, locking the proofed type in a chase, and proofing the lockup on a flat bed proofing press..

Joseph Thorp was one of those distinctive individuals of the early 20th century who deftly bridged the divide between fine-press work and the commercial press. He was a major consultant for both the British retailer WH Smith and the fine printer/publisher Curwen Press, run at the time by Harold Curwen. Thorp was largely responsible for Curwen’s interwar commercial success, bringing efficient production values to Curwen’s Arts & Crafts sensibilities, and helping to develop the notable stable of fine artists that the press became known for. 

The publisher of this book John Hogg was himself a commercial printer, a member of the publishing family founded by his father James Hogg, with offices on Paternoster Row, the traditional heart of the London publishing trade. The book is appropriately dedicated to the designer and typographer Emory Walker, the guiding spirit of contemporary typography and book design, who in 1888 lit the flame that sparked William Morris to initiate the contemporary fine-press movement. We end our post with the an untitled image that Thorp used to demonstrate the correct method for reducing images. The portrait is of course that of the father of fine-printing and the contemporary book-arts movement, William Morris himself.

London Past and Present             

Paternoster Row and St Paul’s Cathedral

I borrowed this book from @anyawen and it has some wonderful resources in it for those fic writers who are siting their stories in London, particularly if you are putting your story in a historical period. 

Alas, when this was written in 1923, queer meant “odd” rather than LGBQT+, but I still think it has value. I plan to share a number of things from it, starting with an area I know particularly well because I used to work in an investment bank on Paternoster Row. 

The area is a brilliant example of how London was forced to “re-invent” itself after WW2 and the massive amount of damage inflicted on its buildings. There have been at least four churches on the site of Ludgate Hill as the area was once known. One burnt down in 1087 and then rebuilding took almost 200 years - interrupted by yet another fire in 1135.

The Gothic cathedral of St Paul’s was consecrated in the 13th century, enlarged in the 14th century, and probably looked like this: 

In 1561, the cathedral was in a poor state of repair, and a fire destroyed the spire, sending it crashing through the roof. The roof was repaired but the steeple was not rebuilt. Some attempts were made to restore and repair the church in the early 17th century, but all work stopped when the English Civil War broke out; Cromwell’s “parliamentary forces” kept horses in the nave!

When the monarchy was restored, work began again, this time with a classical theme. Inigo Jones designed a portico for the western door, the tower was to be taken down and replaced by a dome. But before much could be done, in 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed the rest of the cathedral - in part because it was covered in wooden scaffolding to aid in the restoration. 

Paternoster Row was between the old Grey Friars and the Blackfriars monasteries, and once entirely ecclesiastical in its character. It got its name from the stationers and text-writers who dwelt there and sold religious and educational books, alphabets, paternosters, aves, creeds, and graces. It then became famous for its spurriers, and afterwards for eminent mercers, silkmen, and lacemen; so that the coaches of the "quality" often blocked up the whole street

When Harper wrote his book in 1923, Paternoster Row was home to almost all of London’s publishing houses. 

It was nothing short of a miracle that in WW2 St Paul’s Cathedral was not destroyed - especially when you see what happened to Paternoster Row and the whole area north of the cathedral. This is the result of one night’s bombing on 29 December 1940.

It was re-built by the 1960s- into a series of mid-rise office blocks. 

My investment bank was in the lower building right next to the cathedral- only 5 floors. From 1980 until 1996, there was a huge dispute about how it should be re-developed and made “more in keeping” with the cathedral

Paternoster Square as the area became known eventually received planning consent in 1996 and was knocked down and rebuilt. Now it houses the London Stock Exchange and three major investment banks, plus a lot of cafes’ coffee shops and restaurants on the ground floors. This is the view from St Paul’s Cathedral to the area. 

For you Sherlock fans, that’s the Old Bailey court dome at the far left.