The Old Curiosity Shop

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I am doing a project for my course inspired by the work of Eugene Atget.  Part one was old buildings in Thame, which was quite easy.  Part two was going to be old buildings in London.  Atget photographed ancient buildings in Paris that were in danger of demolition in the early 20th century.  He sold the photos to artists who used them to copy as the backgrounds for their "picturesque" paintings of Paris.  Most of the oldest buildings in London are within a mile of my flat so I wandered around this morning finding them and trying to take pictures of them.  What with the parked cars, street "furniture" and scaffolding, this is going to be an immense challenge.  I think I am just going to have to embrace 21st century accretions...

The Old Curiosity Shop is just off Lincoln's Inn Fields and is swamped by LSE developments (it is owned by the LSE).  The shop dates from 1567 and was built using timber from old ships. At one time it was a dairy.  It was thought to be the model for the antiques shop described by Dickens in an 1841 novel and was renamed "The Old Curiosity Shop" after the novel.