Stamp Stair

Today I visited the hugely entertaining exhibition at Somerset House, London, of the fashion photography of Parisian photographer Guy Bourdin. I hadn't realised that photographs advertising shoes could be quite so enjoyable.  Bourdin's images are highly graphic, somewhat surreal (he was a protege of Man Ray) and, in many cases, quite humorous.

Somerset House has a regular series of photographic exhibitions in its many display places.  The building itself is interesting.  It was built between 1776 and 1801.  The Stamp Stair, seen here, gave access to the Stamp Office, which was responsible for marking all kinds of documents with an official stamp to show that the correct tax had been paid. Until 1855 (when the duty on newspapers was removed) every newspaper in the country was brought to Somerset House to be individually stamped here.

In 1834 the Stamp Office was amalgamated with the Tax Office, which was taken over by the Inland Revenue in 1849.