The history of the East End, told through new Spitalfields Life book on the specialist printers Baddeley Brothers

Designed by David Pearson, with illustrations by Lucinda Rogers and Adam Dant, Baddeley Brothers tells the story of the family-run specialist printers whose work spans four centuries. With an account and series of interviews by Spitalfield Life’s Gentle Author, the book is as much a history of east London and its changing landscape, population and working lives as it is the Baddeley family.

Each chapter focusses on a particular time, from its establishment by JJ Baddeley – a die sinker [who engraves dies used to stamp designs on coins or medals] and then soon to be Lord Mayor of London – through to visits to previous factory sites and the present day Baddeley Brothers factory in Hackney, run by Charles and Chris Pertwee. We see the busy streets of Mansion House in 1922, the bomb damage from WW2 that destroyed their then factory and prize-winnings from the 1990s. As time progresses the four-colour palette goes from tint to high saturation and the chapters are broken up with tipped-in print samples, quoting the Gentle Author and illustrating the range of bravura techniques at the specialist printers. With the intention of bringing focus to their present day work, as well as their history, David Pearson used juxtaposed lettering styles in the tip-ins, printed in metallics against pop-coloured card.

Published by Spitalfields Life Books, Baddeley Brothers follows the professional lineage of the family, from clock makers through to printers: “finding its way onto paper where the line multiplied and flourished upon countless thousands of trade cards, fishing tickets, letter headings, share issues, invitations and envelopes.” It’s the result of great effort to collect the stories of the family and the time, and a prime example of what can be achieved through hard work, both now and historically.