Hi folks,

I wonder if anyone could help. I have L Davenport material in my collection with two addresses.

Some are stamped 25 New Oxford St and others 51 Gt Russell St. I believe Gt Russell St was the later address.

Can anyone tell me definitively when the address changed?

Kind regards, John Chapman (New Zealand).

Just heard back from Davenports - it was 1961.

Davenport has had more than two addresses.
30 Riles Road, Plaistow, England (1899)
15 New Oxford (1931) this is the first catalog of many I have)
208 High Holborn, London (1938)
38-41 New Oxford, London
2208 High Holborn
39/41 New Oxford (1940)
111 New Oxford (1945)
25 New Oxford (1954-61)
51 Great Russel St., London (1962)
7 Charing Cross (1980) This is the last catalog with a specific address listed in Sperber's. All the other catalogs listed after this date just have, London, for place, without a specific address so they may all be the Charing Croos Underground address.

Thanks! That's an excellent list. Much appreciated.

A few inaccuracies, I believe, in the above.

Since 1898, Davenports have traded from:

1898 - 30 Riles Road, Plaistow, east London (now London E13)
1908 - 426 Mile End Road, east London (now London E1)
1910 - as well as the above shop, 138 High Holborn (now London EC1)
1912 - 144 High Holborn (London EC1)
1914 - Bloomsbury Court (for a short while/back end lease, London WC1)
1914 - 13 New Oxford Street (London WC1)
1923 - 15 New Oxford Street (concurrently with this during 1940, 111 New Oxford Street, London WC1)
1949 - 25 New Oxford Street (London WC1)
1962 - 51 Great Russell Street (London WC1, now a tax-dodging Starbucks)

I can't remember the date of their most recent move to Charing Cross Underground Precinct but I believe it was the mid-late 1980's, but certainly not 1980. They were definitely still in Great Russell Street, opposite the British Museum at that time - I was a regular punter at the shop in my youth.

These addresses are taken from The Davenport Book - Magic Circle Magic; a tribute to Lewis and George Davenport that was instituted by the Council of The Magic Circle in 1963.

The date on my Demon catalog, red cover with a magician lifting a woman is, 1980, with a 7 Charing Cross Underground address. There is a book catalog dated 1981, A Davenport 81 catalog all with the 7 Charing Cross address. All dates I supplied were from my collection and/or catalogs from other owners that listed their books in the Sperber catalog. One of thse owners and authors of the Sperber catalog, and who also owns the majority of the Sperber collection, is Byron Walker, he can be found at his web site to confirm any dates he supplied for the books.

http://byronwalkermagicbooks.com/