Fear not. This wasn't the build-up to a ram-raid designed to secure armaments for underworld use – I was merely travelling to Holland and Holland's Bruton Street premises in order to rendezvous with an assortment of other equally bleary-eyed people (among them tennis player Annabel Croft and BRDC stalwart Maxwell Beaverbrook) who had also been tempted by the offer of a distinctly unusual road trip.
P. Oliver Goldsmith began making spectacles at his Poland Street, London premises in 1926. Using his second name ‘Oliver’ (his first was actually Philip), the former optical salesman was one of the pioneers of making frames from an early plastic known as Erinoid, an imitation tortoiseshell or horn material popular in the closely associated button industry.
Naturally, it’s the heydays of the 50s, 60s and 70s that receive the most coverage. With images of Steve McQueen (Persol), Andy Warhol (i.a. Eyeworks), Jarvis Cocker (Cutler and Gross) and Peter Fonda (wearing Raybans in ‘Easy Rider’) the book’s evocative illustrations match Handley’s informative prose.
The briefing for the architects from Bercy Chen Studio, to build a highly specialised boat garage, was fairly straightforward. For their lakeside property on the shores of Lake Austin in Texas, across from the Canyonland Nature Preserve, the owners wanted a place where they could relax and enjoy life, as well as provide a well-protected anchorage for a pleasure boat. From the outset, the Bercy Chen design was utterly stunning.
His photographic style, which portrays beautifully lit car bodies as though they were works of art, lends itself perfectly to the ravishing lines of the legendary 300SL, and reflects his genuine passion for the subject matter. According to the publicity material, this book “is a love song to an exceptional car”, an essential reference and inspiration for all those who likewise admire its sumptuous lines, charting in pictures “every carefully engineered curve and detailed component” to depict the evolution of an automotive icon.
The ephemeral, now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t nature of the modern, temporary ‘pop-up shop’ is almost an art form in itself. Following its successful January residence at the famous Brook Street, Mayfair address, the shop is once again open for business for those looking for contemporary, often reasonably priced, works of art.
From 21 February to 5 April, artists such as Max Lamb, Martino Gamper, Michael Anastassiades, Tauba Auerbach, Faye Toogood, Bethan Laura Wood, David David and Snarkitecture will have pieces on sale to the general public.
Together with Bond movie costume designer Lindy Hemming, Omega President Stephen Urquhart officially presented the Omega Seamaster 300 M Bond Edition anniversary watch.
The Oscar-winning Hemming had first placed an Omega Seamaster on Pierce Brosnan’s wrist for the 1995 film ‘Goldeneye’. Speaking today, 22 February, she commented: “For me, James Bond is a ‘blue’ type. He holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy, wearing the service’s traditional dark blue uniform. Thus, ‘blue’ really is the colour of the world’s most famous secret agent.”
Even better than that, the irony is that the location for the museum is a historic former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Office, which was also used as one of 14 national locations for hearings of the Kefauver Committee on organised crime.
You know the score: picture The Godfather films, where everyone is smoking furiously, and an earnest senator questions a surly, gum-chewing mobster dressed in regulation long-pointy-collared shirt and Zoot suit.
“Just how many ‘accidents’ are we expected to believe you’ve been involved in, Mr Barzini…?” And so on.
Comparisons and similarities abound. Montrachet or Martini? Bagel or baguette? Essential choices for the transatlantic traveller, both - and well-considered in the 224-page, English-language book.
And Americans who have crossed the Atlantic divide, such as Hemingway and Gene Kelly, are given due mention, too.
The one question unanswered is whether Muratyan prefers one city over the other.
So the new App which “takes users on a journey through the darker side of Charles Dickens’ London” is not only fascinating to those in London for the first time, it’s also a reminder to the good citizens of the city of exactly how grim it was 200 years ago...
...to the day, 7 February 1812, when the great British writer was born.
The new App has been created by the Museum of London, and beautifully illustrated by renowned artist David Foldvari.