Thursday, February 16, 2012

Prohibition Era Display

Thankfully the UK has never had a nationwide ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, unlike the United States 1919-1933 Volstead Act. As a result, many people opened illegal bars in their homes and nondescript buildings, made their own bootleg liquors, or had them imported from Canada. A very popular television series is currently covering the American Prohibition, so we created a display that we thought might resemble a secret hideout during that time.
Refined, but a bit rough round the edges, this display makes use of an original 1930's glass and steel chandelier, and rare original linen New York subway car blind. The sofa is part of a matching 3 piece suite shown here, and the mercury glass mirror for Golden Dawn cigarettes was pulled from a pub and dates from the 1920's. We have two of these pub mirrors, and both would have been very expensive to produce. The detail on each is amazing! The giant enamelled thermometer is also an incredibly rare find, and it still works!
Cheers!
Adam x