Culture

A Wonderfully British Vintage Guide to London

Taxis, one entry says, are “purring smoothies smelling of leather and metal polish.”
The guidebook, which debuted in 1953, is being re-issued later this year.Courtesy of Thames & Hudson

When I moved to London in the winter of 2014, I didn’t know many people—just my new coworkers, old acquaintances I’d fallen out of touch with, and some friends of friends. Weekdays weren’t so bad, because I was working. But weekends were tough. I walked around the city listening to the Magnetic Fields—in and out of the museums, around monuments, and along the rivers and channels. These were disorganized, dreamy excursions, and perhaps even a little sad.

If only I’d had the new, re-issued copy of London A-Z at hand then, my explorations may have had more levity and direction.