Social History
Interior decoration
Jazz fan Doug Dobell went to work at his father's bookshop on Charing Cross Road in 1946. After he joined the family business the shop began selling records in addition to books. Dobell's shop specialised in jazz and rapidly became the hub of the Soho scene gaining both national and international notoriety. The shop also became a Mecca for teenage skiffle music fans in the fifties.
In the mid fifties Dobell launched a record label, 77 Records, named after the shop's street number. The label specialised in jazz, blues and folk and released an early Bob Dylan track recorded under the name 'Blind Boy Grunt'. Famous visitors to the shop included American blues legends BB King and Muddy Waters.
In 1981 Dobell's relocated from Charing Cross to nearby Tower Street. Doug Dobell died in 1987. This interior decoration from the shop features an image of legendary American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. It was collected by the Museum of London after Dobell's closed in 1992.
- Category:
- Social History
- Object ID:
- 92.102/3
- Object name:
- interior decoration
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
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- Production date:
- —
- Material:
plastic
- Measurements/duration:
- H 1070 mm, W 1120 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.