Recite With Me: An Alphabet of London

Through my letterbox on Tuesday morning arrived this small bundle of joy. ‘An Alphabet of London’ is exactly as its called; an illustrated catalogue of famous (and otherwise) London places, people, landmarks and quirks. Christopher Brown is a London-born and raised illustrator who specialises in linocut printing. Each page consists of a selection of depictions in beautiful muted colours which Brown remembers from his childhood in Putney in the 1950s which he recalls as being largely monochromatic. A charming and nostalgic look at a London which is both post-war and contemporary with drawings which are both naive, cheeky and delightful. This is not only a compendium of London but a compendium of ‘autumnal’ colours that any artist or colour-lover will revel in. A hard-backed book in a coarsely-woven coated paper contains 96 pages of a thick, heavyweight paper. Even as a Londoner myself, there were lots of things I didn’t know about or recognise making me twitchy to get out and explore. A treat indeed for all Londoners and London-lovers alike.

An Alphabet of London by Christopher Brown

• Hardcover: 96 pages, 210 illustrations, 19.6 x 17.6 cm (7.75 x 6.75 in)
• Publisher: Merrell (March 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN: 978-1-8589-4573-6
• RRP: UK £12.95, US $22.95, CAN $24.95

Here are the spreads for C, F and Z. Can you guess them all? Answers at the bottom….

Images with thanks to Christopher Brown, Merrell Publishing and Elizabeth de Mar PR.

Answers:

C: Chelsea Pensioner with statue of Charles II, Chelsea Flower Show (I read the image as Columbia Flower Market), Lord and Lady Clapham, coronations (Westminster Abbey), Cleopatra’s Needle (Embankment), Cenotaph (Whitehall)

F: Fleet Street, Fulham footballer, Ian Fleming, Guy Fawkes, fish-like Dacre dolphin, Festival Hall (Southbank)

Z: Giraffe House (London Zoo), zoo-keeper and zebra, tomb of Flight Sub Lietenant Alexander Warneford ((1891-1915), Brompton Cemetery, awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack on a zeppelin), defaced statues at Zimbabwe House.