London has an impressive diversity of street signs, as I was reminded today when this example on Deptford High Street caught my eye (much to the bemusement of a passing cyclist!). It's a little tattered and rusted around the edges, and dirty all over, but still boldly proclaims 'EDWARD ST. S.E.8'. That makes three more full stops than are found on the modern sign.
There are so many other variations to be found on the city streets. Below are just a few from my collection. However, if you would like to see many more signs, and learn a lot more about them, then there is now a dedicated book by Alistair Hall, London Street Signs: A visual history of London's street nameplates. I would strongly recommend it: there is so much wide-ranging information, from the development of the London postal district to the creation of alphabets; from official regulations to the materials and manufacture of signs. And of course, lots and lots of photographs.
4 comments:
Who makes the decisions about street size and style - the local council? If the signs in the photos above are all in the one local council area, I am assuming they must have been placed in different decades.
oops, I meant decisions about street signs' size and style.
You are right, they're from a range of periods - and more than one borough. Some of the local councils have changed or disappeared as boundaries changed. It is the local councils who make the decisions, but there are also regulations (dating from 1952, from London County Council - which no longer exists) setting broad guidelines.
The City of London signs are particularly stylish, using the Albertus typeface designed by Berthold Wolpe, who also created those bold Faber book covers of the 1950s and 60s.
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