London's famous for eccentrics. One of the most famous was Stanley Green, the 'Passion Proteins' man. When I first moved to London, stumbling my way around the city and feeling like I was the bloke in The Jam's Strange Town, I used to see him all the time. One evening I bought his booklet, more for the vernacular design and that it was all set in moveable type than for the sincere if impenetrable 'advice' inside ("LESS PASSION FROM LESS PROTEIN - FISH MEAT BIRD, EGG CHEESE PEAS incl. lentils BEANS NUTS AND SITTING"). Green's little books were typeset and noisily printed at his Northolt home, much to the consternation of his neighbours.
Mr Green died in 1993, and his placards and leaflets are now in the Museum Of London. This short film of him on Oxford Street recently popped up on YouTube.
UPDATE: And here is Mr Green's actual printing press, now in storage at Gunnersbury Museum. It's as idiosyncratic as the man himself. Many thanks to Alan.98.
7 comments:
What a marvellous eccentric....or maybe he was right!!
Apropos eccentrics, do you remember the 'Monk' who used to walk around the Leeds ringroad, waving at motorists?
Yes! Always used to give him a wave from my seat on the 665 on the way 'ome from college. He had (has?) a smile for everyone.
Hang on - there' an (old) blog about him -
http://bradfordmonk.blogspot.com/
Thought I recognised that accent!
Now THAT is a find! And the most recent sighting appears to have been Feb 2010!
Mr Green's press is every bit as individual as its produce
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16400798@N04/2401520328/
Holy Cow, Alan! That deserves a post on its own. Thanks for that.
Alan, i've just updated the post.
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