Relief

Zaehnsdorf bookbinders

Site: Zaehnsdorf bookbinders (1 memorial)

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, 144

Tiger Growl spotted this charming relief on the second floor balcony of this flatiron building. We've identified the activity as bookbinding but need to understand why here. Printing (and so, we imagine, bookbinding) in London was centred at different times in the St Paul's area and the Fleet Street area but never in Covent Garden, as far as we know. The building, disappointingly, is not listed. Can anyone help?

December 2022: John Cottrell answered our plea, first by correcting the address (we had it in Earlham Street) and then directing us to the research published by the Seven Dials Trust: "Nos. 144-146 Shaftesbury Avenue was designed by Richard M. Roe and G. Richards Julian of 62-3 Basinghall Street. The plans are dated 1 August 1889. The premises are first described as Cambridge House (POD 1891) and were occupied from then on by Zaehnsdorfs, bookbinders, for whom it seems to have been built. The carved plaque on the corner over the entrance shows a bookbinder at work."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Zaehnsdorf bookbinders

Subjects commemorated i

Zaehnsdorf bookbinders

From the research published by the Seven Dials Trust: "Zaehnsdorfs was founde...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

National Provincial Bank at Bishopsgate

National Provincial Bank at Bishopsgate

EC2, Bishopsgate, Gibson Hall

From Wikipedia "The Gibson Hall is a Grade I listed building on Bishopsgate in the City of London. The building is named after its archit...

2 subjects commemorated
Saville Theatre - Chester Players

Saville Theatre - Chester Players

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, Odeon Covent Garden

The ‘Drama Through the Ages’ frieze is by Gilbert Bayes. The listing says "Bayes' frieze is one of the largest and most important works o...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Phoenix Fire Office

Phoenix Fire Office

EC3, Cornhill

Around the top are some delightful reliefs in iron of the badges of early fire insurance companies: Sun, Phoenix, London and Royal Exchan...

1 subject commemorated
Resurgam

Resurgam

EC4, Cannon Street, St Paul's Cathedral

This phoenix represents the rebirth of the old Cathedral, lost in the Great Fire. Stones from the old building were used in the construct...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Dolphin pub

Dolphin pub

W11, Sirdar Road, Dolphin House

The building boasted (at least) two of these plaques, but this was the only one that we could see in 2015. An odd dolphin, with a tail m...

1 subject commemorated

Previously viewed

Hotel Russell - Lord Salisbury

Hotel Russell - Lord Salisbury

WC1, Russell Square, 1-8

This ornate extravaganza, designed by the splendidly named Fitzroy Doll, was built in 1898. Ornamental Passions has a good post about the...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Spencer Walpole

Spencer Walpole

Sir Spencer Walpole KCB, FBA was an English historian and civil servant. The son of Spencer Horace Walpole he was descended from one of the brothers of Robert Walpole. Through his mother he was a ...

Person, History, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Rocco Franzetti
War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Hedley Hope-Nicholson

Hedley Hope-Nicholson

Barrister, literary critic and Charles I obsessive. He hyphenated his Nicholson with his wife's Hope. Andrew Behan researched this eccentric character, bur first a preamble from Andrew: "I couldn'...

Person, Sculpture

2 memorials