“Four floors full of fashion, homewares and so much more …” is how Lewis’s, the 153 year old Liverpool department store, describes itself.
But once upon a time, there was a fifth floor, which is now the subject of a new book, Lewis’s Fifth Floor, A Department Story
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.
King even got former ‘Fifth Floor” employees to return for portraits.
Photographer, Stephen King’s website
Exhibition at the National Conservation Centre, Liverpool, February 26-August 30, 2010
