Synopsis
The legendary Lewis’s store in Liverpool is a landmark that retains the affections of the city. Once a famed emporium of glamour and spectacle which drew crowds from miles around and became the subject of urban myths, the store was part of a retail phenomenon that changed the way we shop and the architectural landscape of our cities: a world in miniature, where shoppers could buy everything under one roof and the staff included up to four generations of families.

This book by acclaimed photographer Stephen King contains remarkable images of Lewis’s ‘lost’ fifth floor, which was sealed off more than thirty years ago and hasn’t been seen by the public since. King’s images and the accompanying introduction from Deborah Mulhearn capture the stunning 1950s designs of the hidden canteen where the young Beatles played staff parties at Christmas; the intricate mosaics that have become registered historic works; the breathtaking scale of what was at one time the world’s largest hair salon, but most of all the human story of this Liverpool institution.

Stephen King is an award-winning photographer based in Liverpool. His photographs of Lewis’s will be exhibited in the Conservation Centre from February to August 2010.

Deborah Mulhearn is a freelance writer and journalist. Her previous books include the Mersey Minis series.

Exhibition (www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatsonnet/displayexhibitions.aspx?mode=future&venue=6)

185 x 250 mm, 160pp., 150 colour illustrations, Hardback

Published December 2009