Wandsworth, South West London, Lavender Hill c1911

Wandsworth, South West London, Lavender Hill circa 1911. The unusual thing about this excellent postcard is that you can see the shop-front of the publisher, Sidney Smith. Smith was a prolific publisher of postcards of South-West London. I don't know if he actually took any photographs himself, on the 1911 census he describes himself as a 'stationer and fancy goods dealer'. He certainly used Richard Young of Teddington to take some photographs for his postcards. In the detailed views below you can see Smith's postcard shop, very conveniently located next to a post office. Smith's shop survives (number 200 Lavender Hill) as an estate agent called Woodland Payne. The post office has been replaced by an ugly 1960s building, but at least it is still a post office. I've also included a close-up of the girl on the right because she is so striking. Also see this post for another view of Lavender Hill. As usual, click the pictures to enlarge.

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