Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AUCTION HOUSES
A very Mayfair-style entertainment lies in visiting the area's trio of auction houses.
Sotheby's
,
34-35 New Bond St (
T
020 7293 5000,
W
sothebys.com), was founded in 1744 and is the oldest
of the three (and the fourth oldest in the world), though its pre-eminence only really dates
from the last war. Above the doorway of Sotheby's is London's oldest outdoor sculpture, an
Egyptian statue dating from 1600 BC.
Bonhams
, founded in 1793 (and now merged with
Phillips), is at 101 New Bond St (
T
020 7447 7447,
W
bonhams.com); and
Christie's
, founded
in 1766, and now the world's largest auction house, is actually over in St James's at 8 King St
(
T
020 7839 9060,
W
christies.com).
Viewing takes place from Monday to Friday, and also occasionally at the weekend, and entry
to the galleries is free of charge, though if you don't buy a catalogue, the only information
you'll glean is the lot number. Thousands of the works that pass through the rooms are of
museum quality, and, if you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a masterpiece in transit
between private collections. Anyone can attend the auctions themselves, though remember
to keep your hands firmly out of view unless you're bidding.
Sotheby's is probably the least intimidating: there's an excellent
café
, and staff offer free
valuations, if you have an heirloom of your own to check out. There's always a line of people
unwrapping items under the polite gaze of valuation staff, who call in the experts if they see
something that sniffs of real money. Only Bonhams remains British-owned; Christie's and
Sotheby's, once quintessentially English institutions, are now under French and US control.
3
Smythson
40 New Bond St • Mon-Wed & Fri 9.30am-6pm, Thurs 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm •
W
smythson.com •
!
Bond Street
One Bond Street institution you can feel free to walk into is
Smythson
, the bespoke
stationers, founded in 1887, who made their name printing Big Game books for
colonialists to record what they'd bagged out in Africa and India. At the back of the
shop is a small octagonal museum encrusted with shells and mirrors, and a few artefacts:
photos and replicas of the topic of condolence Smythson created for JFK's funeral, and
the cherry calf-and-vellum diary given to Princess Grace of Monaco as a wedding gift.
Albemarle Street
Running parallel to Bond Street to the west, is
Albemarle Street
, connected by the
Royal
Arcade
, a short High Victorian shopping mall with tall arched bays and an elegant glass
roof, with garish orange-and-white plasterwork entrances at either end. It was designed so
that the wealthy guests of nearby
Brown's
hotel could have a sheltered and suitably elegant
approach to the shops on Bond Street. Apart from being a posh hotel opened in the 1830s
by James Brown, Byron's former valet,
Brown's
is famous as the place where the country's
first telephone call was placed by
Alexander Graham Bell
in 1876, though initially he got a
crossed line with a private telegraph wire. Also in Albemarle Street, at no. 50, are the
o
ces of
John Murray
, the publishers of Byron and of the oldest British travel guides. It
was here in 1824 that Byron's memoirs were burnt to cinders, after Murray persuaded Tom
Moore, to whom they had been bequeathed, that they were too scurrilous to publish.
Royal Institution
21 Albermarle St • Mon-Fri 9am-6pm • Free •
T
020 7409 2992,
W
rigb.org •
!
Green Park
The weighty Neoclassical facade at 21 Albermarle Street heralds the
Royal Institution
, a
scientific body founded in 1799 “for teaching by courses of philosophical lectures and
experiments the application of science to the common purposes of life”. The RI is best
known for its six Christmas Lectures, begun by Michael Faraday and designed to
popularize science among schoolchildren, but it also houses an enjoyable interactive
museum
aimed at both kids and adults. In the basement, you can learn about the ten
chemical elements that have been discovered at the RI, and about the famous experiments
that have taken place here: Tyndall's blue-sky tube, Humphry Davy's early lamps and
