Street Sign
1967 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This street sign was designed by the Russian-born British architect and designer Sir Misha Black (1910-1977), Professor of Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art from 1959 to 1975, who was responsible for designing all of Westminster's iconic street signs in 1976. It was given to the museum in 2010 when Westminster Council upgraded all its signposts as part of its Legible London campaign.
The name Shaftesbury Avenue conjures associations of a century of theatre-going in London's West End, with the Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud and Queen's Theatres on the north side between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross Road, the Palace Theatre at the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, and the Shaftesbury Theatre at its north-eastern end. Shaftesbury Avenue has been at the heart of London's West End theatre district since the late 19th century when it was built by the architect George Vuillamy and the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, clearing the slums of St. Giles and Soho and creating a traffic artery through the area. It was named after the politician and philanthropist Anthony Ashley Cooper (1801-1885), the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury of whom it was said by one of his biographers that: 'No man has in fact ever done more to lessen the extent of human misery or to add to the sum total of human happiness.'
The name Shaftesbury Avenue conjures associations of a century of theatre-going in London's West End, with the Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud and Queen's Theatres on the north side between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross Road, the Palace Theatre at the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, and the Shaftesbury Theatre at its north-eastern end. Shaftesbury Avenue has been at the heart of London's West End theatre district since the late 19th century when it was built by the architect George Vuillamy and the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, clearing the slums of St. Giles and Soho and creating a traffic artery through the area. It was named after the politician and philanthropist Anthony Ashley Cooper (1801-1885), the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury of whom it was said by one of his biographers that: 'No man has in fact ever done more to lessen the extent of human misery or to add to the sum total of human happiness.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled sheet iron |
| Brief description | Enamelled metal street sign for Shaftesbury Avenue commissioned by Westminster Council and designed in 1976 by Sir Misha Black (1910-1977) |
| Physical description | Sheet iron street sign enamelled in black and white, with the word THEATRELAND in upper case white lettering against black on the upper section of the sign, and the black and white Theatreland logo of two costumed characters; the words SHAFTESBURY AVENUE in black against white, and W1 in red against white in the central section, and CITY OF WESTMINSTER in red on white in the lower section. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Westminster City Council |
| Object history | This sign was designed by Sir Misha Black in 1976 as one of the many street signs he designed for Westminster Council. It was given to the V&A by Westminster City Council when it upgraded all its signposts in the capital as part of its Legible London campaign. Many of the signs were sold, that for Downing Street realising £31,500 when it was auctioned in October 2013. |
| Associations | |
| Summary | This street sign was designed by the Russian-born British architect and designer Sir Misha Black (1910-1977), Professor of Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art from 1959 to 1975, who was responsible for designing all of Westminster's iconic street signs in 1976. It was given to the museum in 2010 when Westminster Council upgraded all its signposts as part of its Legible London campaign. The name Shaftesbury Avenue conjures associations of a century of theatre-going in London's West End, with the Lyric, Apollo, Gielgud and Queen's Theatres on the north side between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross Road, the Palace Theatre at the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, and the Shaftesbury Theatre at its north-eastern end. Shaftesbury Avenue has been at the heart of London's West End theatre district since the late 19th century when it was built by the architect George Vuillamy and the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, clearing the slums of St. Giles and Soho and creating a traffic artery through the area. It was named after the politician and philanthropist Anthony Ashley Cooper (1801-1885), the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury of whom it was said by one of his biographers that: 'No man has in fact ever done more to lessen the extent of human misery or to add to the sum total of human happiness.' |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.4200-2013 |
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| Record created | November 12, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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