A typographic time capsule

A Special London Street…

Exmouth Market is one of Central London’s hidden gems, an historic pedestrianised street packed with independent shops, restaurants, cafés and market stalls.

This illuminated letterpress print documents the street’s 400-year history that includes blood sports, a disreputable Victorian tea garden and an atrocious graveyard now buried under the adjacent park. It documents the street's changes up to the present-day, recording over 40 ‘establishments of note’, together with the regular market stalls. 

To evoke the character of the market, I based several of the decorated initials, spelling ‘Exmouth’, on the rich assortment of lettering found on the street, while the rest were illustrated to to tell the story of its past. 

The type is set in Minion the and makes full use of the typeface’s historical and ornamental characters to enrich the text. The typographic composition allows the narrative to be weaved around the page and create bold dropcaps from the initials.

Print Details

• Letterpress in silver, turquoise and black
• Individually signed, limited edition of 250
• Printed on Crane's Lettra 300gsm paper
• Size: 660 x 464 mm (25.9" x 18.2") allowing the body text to be easily read from a couple of feet away
• Set in Minion Pro (Robert Slimbach, 1990)
• Printed by Hand & Eye letterpress, London

Featured In:

• Thames & Hudson: Type Tell Tales, Steven Heller, Gail Anderson
• Type Room: Delve into Jamie Clarke's “Typographic Time Capsule”
• People of Print: Exmouth Market Letterpress
• CreativeBloq: Letterpress typography pays tribute to 400-year-old street
• The FontFeed: Typographic Time Capsule of A London Street (No longer available)

Establishments Noted:
North side: Caravan, Gulshan Tandoori, The Exmouth Arms, SpaceEC1, Brill, Farringdon Locksmith & Tool Shop, G N Furniture, Gail’s Bakery, EC One, Café Kick, Bagman and Robin, Family Tree, Potato Merchant & Santoré. 
South side: Paesan, East Central Cycles, The Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Big Wheel Theatre Company, The Klinik, Clerkenwell Tales, Morito, Moro, Medcalf, Clark’s Pie & Mash, EXM Hair & Beauty, Pride of Siam, Nécco, McCaul Goldsmiths,  Family Business, Hummus Bros, Sweet Boulangerie & Patisserie & Book Ends.

Market Stalls: Spinach & Agushi, Freebird, Sporeboys, The London Brigaderia, Crêpes & Galettes, Spanish Flavours, Simply Thai, The German Barbeque & Ion Patisserie.

Historical locations referenced: The Fountain, London Spaw, The Dog & Duck/ Ducking Pond House, Brayne’s Row, Exmouth Street, The Pantheon, Spa Fields Chapel, Spa Fields Graveyard.