Collecting LYONS LITHOGRAPHS

The rise of the tea shop in the early 20th century led to a public art project like no other – prints by top artists of the day, decorating the famed Lyons corner houses. Emma Longstaff discovers more

- Emma Longstaff

Modern high streets are dotted with coffee chains, cafes and tea shops of all kinds, but in the late 19th century the tea shop was a groundbreaking innovation. A genteel alternative to bawdy pubs or taverns, tea shops were suitable destinations for respectable females and families, where even unchaperoned ladies could partake of an affordable cup of tea and a dainty slice of Battenberg. Perhaps they might also plan their next postbox bombing or arson attack - tea shops became notorious as meeting places for suffragettes.

Among the tea shop pioneers was the J Lyons & Co catering firm, which opened its first ever premises in 1894 in central London. Over the next decades, the company launched hundreds more, with a Lyons tea shop becoming a familiar sight in towns and cities across the country. By the interwar years, the Lyons waitresses, known as 'Nippies' on account of their speedy service, were serving millions of cups of tea to the people of Britain every week.

At the end of the Second World War, the tea shops were in a sorry state, explains author Charlie Batchelor. 'Some had bomb damage, others were in desperate need of redecoration. Usually the tea rooms were refurbished on a regular basis, but there was no paint or wallpaper or other supplies to be had.' The directors of Lyons came up with an ingenious solution. If they couldn't spruce up the grubby, peeling walls, they could at least cover them with art. They appointed Jack Beddington - an advertising whizz, well-connected in the art world - to lead the project. From 1946 to 1955 he commissioned three series of prints - 40 in total - from Britain's top artists, including LS Lowry, Edward Bawden, John Piper, and Duncan Grant, as well as talented newcomers such as David Gentleman. All bar nine of the 40 prints measured 29 x 39 inches, making them the same size as a commercial cinema poster (and even bigger once framed).