¶Inspired partly by his father who was a shopkeeper, Ravilious and his contemporaries were interested in the portrayal of shop fronts in both Russian and French children's literature of the time. In 1924, Ravilious and his friend the artist Edward Bawden jointly designed The Christmas Bookshop, an advertising insert for the December 1924 edition of The Studio. Later, in 1935, Ravilious and Helen Binyon discussed the publication of an alphabet of shop fronts. With the illustrations having been partially completed by 1936, High Street was finally published by Country Life Ltd. in 1938 having been rejected by the Golden Cockerel Press. A marvellous dive into the past, with a clarity and verve that removes it from the realm of simple nostalgia.