Quantity:

More Buying Choices

25 used & new from �14.24

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Shutting Up Shop: The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop

See larger image

See all 9 customer images

Share your own customer images

Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Shutting Up Shop: The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop (Hardcover)

by John Londei (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

RRP:	�25.00
Price:	�15.73 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save:	�9.27 (37%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

20 new from �14.24 5 used from �14.26

Frequently Bought Together

Still Open: The Guide to Traditional London Shops

Price For All Three: �30.45

Show availability and delivery details

This item: Shutting Up Shop: The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop by John Londei
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Still Open: The Guide to Traditional London Shops by Sally Venables
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
London Caffs by Edwin Heathcote
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Still Open: The Guide to Traditional London Shops

by Sally Venables

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �8.25

English Shops and Shopping: An Architectural History (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies)

by KA Morrison

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �15.50

Derelict London

by Paul Talling

4.8 out of 5 stars (8) �6.11

London Caffs

by Edwin Heathcote

3.0 out of 5 stars (1) �6.47

A Nation of Shopkeepers

by Bill Evans

�7.16

› Explore similar items

Product details

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Dewi Lewis Ltd (5 Jul 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1904587461
ISBN-13: 978-1904587460
Product Dimensions: 26.2 x 25.4 x 2 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 216,109 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories:

#26 in	Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Photography > Subjects & Types > Travel > Great Britain
#83 in	Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Photography > Subjects & Types > Architectural

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

(What is this?)

Small Shop opens new browser window

Ask.com - Find the Best Results for Small Shop

Shops Shutting Up Shop opens new browser window

www.shop.com/prints - Shops Shutting Up Shop Here. Shop Smart & Save Big at SHOP.COM

Product Description

Shot over a fifteen-year period beginning in the early 1970s, "Shutting Up Shop" is a tribute to an era that has all but disappeared: the traditional small shops that feature have now almost all gone. In all there are 60 shops. Each one is unique, and their range diverse: from flowers to condoms, from tea to tobacco. As well as shops from London the series covers many regions of the UK, everywhere from the Isle of Harris to the Isle of Wight. As well as the photographs of the shops are their stories, vividly told through anecdote and interviews with the staff; for just as important as the shops were the shopkeepers, people who were cherished and seen as important members of their community. And how proud they were to be serving it! In 2004, Londei began the task of updating what had become of the shopkeepers and shops he'd photographed so long ago. His findings are included in the fascinating 'afterword' section of the book. Many had closed not long after the pictures were taken, others struggled on until the death or retirement of their owners; almost every single one had changed beyond recognition.

About the Author

John Londei is an award-winning advertising and editorial photographer. He has a London studio and lives in Guildford.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

great britain(1)

london(1)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	84% buy the item featured on this page: Shutting Up Shop: The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop 4.4 out of 5 stars (7) �15.73
	5% buy Storefront: The Disappearing Face of Old New York 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �34.35
	4% buy The Traditional Shops & Restaurants of London: A Guide to Century-old Establishments and New Classics �7.43
	4% buy Still Open: The Guide to Traditional London Shops 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �8.25

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Past their time, 28 Sep 2007

By	Robin Benson - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

John Londei presents a wonderful and loving photo tribute to what Napoleon rightly said in 1776: 'England is a nation of shopkeepers'. The sixty shops featured were photographed mainly in the 1980s and mostly show the front of the premises with the owners standing proudly in the entrance. What struck me about these photos is the richness of color (the 200dpi printing obviously helps) depth and their simplicity. The contents of the photos are so fascinating that there was no need to do anything more photographically to tell the story.

There is a story to tell though about each of these shops and what I like about the book is the trouble John Lonei has gone to. As well as the lovely photos he interviewed the shop owners and staff, this text is on the left hand page facing each photo. All this was done more than a decade ago so Londei, in 2007, returned to each place to see what had happened to the shop. This Afterword fills seventeen pages at the back of the book mixing text with a thumbnail of the original and 2007 photos. Predictably many of the original shops had changed hands or gone completely.

I've looked through the book several times and it is obvious, as Londei says in his intro, that many of the shops are past their prime, they have a faded beauty and it shows but why should the owners, mostly elderly, spend money to keep up with merchandising trends when the investment would probably not increase their business. The 2007 Afterword photos reveal the results.

Shutting Up Shop is the perfect photobook and a heartwarming tribute to the nation of shopkeepers where service came first.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful micro-history with superb photographs, 4 Sep 2007

By	Susan Lockrey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an utterly wonderful book. The sixty 10x8 colour photographs are beautifully composed and, thankfully, show an immense respect for their subject. Too many times a photographic essay of this kind seems to be half-mocking their subjects. Londei's photographs and unpretentiously tender text have none of that undertone. And why not. The shops are so delightful. The brilliant little empires created by these small businessmen and women are worthy of such loving photographic tribute. My only wish was that the touching afterword where Londei tells us what came of these shops thirty years later was more extensively incorporated into the main body of work. The thumbnail photograph of the shops thirty years on were frustratingly small. But it's a tiny rerservation to an otherwise gem of a book. There will be no great fanfares for this book, as it's not fashionable in either method or subject matter. But that is its strength. Reminds me of David Isay's Flophouse book. This is such a bargain for its price. Sell your dreary Thomas Struths and William Egglestons. Buy ten of these.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treat yourself and indulge in some 1980's nostalgia., 28 Oct 2009

By	J. Fordyce "W1lsons" (England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A wonderful book that you are able to lose yourself in, transporting you to the 1980's. The subjects are sensitively framed leaving one feeling more of a friend than a voyeur. John Londei has a superb compositional eye and use of lighting that raises the minutae of shop life to a sense of grandeur equal to the Dutch Masters. After buying a copy I then proceeded to get a copy for a friend's birthday and they were also thrilled. It is a book to leave on your coffee table and watch visitors pour through it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 7 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Shutting Up Shop, John Londei
This beautifully presented book is a first for John Londei. The intimate stories of the decline of the traditional shops and their staff is a wonderful snapshot of history. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Peter Gatford

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing layout spoils otherwise interesting book
Interesting social history book which is unfortunately let down by the "modern day" information on each shop being hidden at the back of the book, making constant back-and-forth... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Steve Winters

4.0 out of 5 stars Why not buy this from an actual bookstore
A wonderful book, but best bought from your local bookstore, as the book hopes you will become more aware of and not just use whats "convenient" and fast and soulless.

Published 11 months ago by Anders Talleraas

5.0 out of 5 stars What a find!!!
This a beautiful journey back to the past revisiting what once was. Photographer John Londei has captured the reality that these shops were the shop keepers lives and the... Read more

Published 11 months ago by nelson hodges

› See all 7 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }