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I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet
Hartnet, Pat - Enlarge image
I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet; Carnaby Street Shop Sign
- Object:
Painting
- Place of origin:
London, England (painted)
- Date:
1964 (painted)
- Artist/Maker:
Hartnet, Pat (painter)
- Materials and Techniques:
Gloss paint on fibre board
- Museum number:
E.1428-2001
- Gallery location:
In Storage
'I was Lord Kitchener's Valet' was a boutique in 1960s London. Initially a market stall in Portobello Market, it opened its first shop in Portobello in 1966. It later moved to Foubert's Place on Carnaby Street after a brief spell on Wardour Street. The shop sold secondhand uniforms, such as the famous red tunic worn by Jimi Hendrix, silk shirts, 'pop art' Union Jacks and bulls eye shirts and jackets, badges and military buttons. The design of the shop sign, which was created for the boutique so that it would be visible to those walking down Carnaby Street, was inspired by the famous armed forces recruitment poster designed by Alfred Leete, issued in 1914. This showed Lord Kitchener, then Secretary of State for War, pointing at the viewer with the words 'Your Country Needs You'. The older generation was shocked by the fashion for wearing decommissioned uniforms by the anti-establishment youth.
The shop was considered a key venue in the 1960s and featured in many contemporary documentary photographs and film footage.
