Thursday, August 24, 2023

The non-retired colourmen of London

 I was in London for a few days over the weekend, visiting with my daughters. I was lucky enough to be in London about two months ago and visit a bunch of Sherlockian locations (https://221bcooee.blogspot.com/2023/06/shelockian-glimpses-in-london.html), and this time was a family trip with less self-indulgent Sherlockian touring.

But that doesn't prevent the opportunity for observation. I was so pleased to be walking away from the British Museum (and past the Alpha Inn) and to spot this store: L. Cornelissen & Son, "Artists Colourmen". "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" invokes an obscure occupation of a seeming bygone era, and yet here there were: 


The business is located on Great Russell Sq right by the British Museum, and their website provides information about the business: https://www.cornelissen.com . As outlined in this blog, the store displays an amazing range of pigments utilized to create various colors/colours and paints (https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2012/07/Artist-Quality-Pigments-Artists-Colourmen.html).

One intriguing possibility: the history of the firm (www.cornelissen.com/cornelissens-history) discloses it existed in London since the 1850s, and was solidly established by 1881. Did ACD pass a Cornelissen store in London and note the occupation ??? 

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