PHOTOGRAPHY

Odeon Relics: Nineteen-Thirties Icons in the Twenty-First Century

Art Deco Magpie 2019 ISBN 9781999759612 Acqn 29856
Hb 22x22cm 144pp 120col ills £25

Between 1928 and 1939, Oscar Deutsch wowed the British public with one of the most
extraordinary estates of Streamline Moderne cinemas ever built - he named them Odeons;
alluring neon-clad beacons of escapism, glamour and affordable luxury during a period of
depression and rising international tensions. However, faced with growing challenges, in a rapidly
changing society increasingly captivated by television and home entertainment, many of these
huge structures struggled to remain viable. Despite being recognised as architecturally important
now, countless former Odeons have long since met with the wrecking ball, whilst others continue
to fight for survival.

As part of his ongoing project to document the surviving architecture of Britain's inter-war years,
photographer and writer Philip Butler (featured recently on BBC television and in The Guardian)
travelled the country to capture what remains of Deutsch's ground-breaking empire in the twenty-
first century. From dazzling restorations to decaying shells, from sympathetic reconfigurations to
careless alterations, the photographs highlight the varying fortunes of each building.

This annotated comprehensive series of photographs has been collected together in the new
hard-back book Odeon Relics. An illuminating essay by architectural writer Jason Sayer (The
Guardian, Architects' Journal, Metropolis, Wallpaper) introduces the book, looking into the birth of
the Odeon empire and the creation of its iconic picture palaces. A selection of stunning period
shots by legendary architectural photographer John Maltby are also featured to give a flavour of
how these iconic buildings looked when new, providing a dramatic contrast to the weathered
structures exhibited in the contemporary images.

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