London in Fragments

Mudlarking, searching the Thames foreshore, has a long tradition: mudlarks used to be small boys grubbing a living from scrap. Today’s mudlarks unearth relics of the past, from Roman tiles to elegant Georgian pottery. Here are Ted Sandling's most evocative finds, gorgeously photographed in colour. Together they create a mosaic of everyday London life through the centuries, touching on ideas of Journeys, Pleasure and Vice, Industry, Adornment and Comfort. There are two themes behind the account: celebrating the beauty of small things, and making sense of the intangible connection that found objects give us to the individuals who lost them. An evocative and detailed text places the fragments back in the objects they came from, and places the objects in the flow of London's history. The French fold jacket is printed on the reverse with a map of access points to the river, and the book concludes with advice on how to start mudlarking yourself.

Praise of London in Fragments...

'Exhilaratingly curious and entertainingly knowledgeable, Sandling is especially good at following the fractals of his eclectic finds...each object beautifully photographed… He is a fine observer, too, of the potent flawed beauty of his hoard of rescued treasure… With handsome photography, an introduction by Iain Sinclair and a chapter of excellent practical advice for would-be mudlarkers, this book is an indispensable vade-mecum for anyone who has ever been tempted to explore the secrets that lie hidden in plain sight on the shores of London’s great river.'

(Jane Shilling Evening Standard)

'hypnotic — yet infectiously jolly... [Ted Sandling] has a sharp eye and aesthetic appreciation for the fragments of objects that now surface in the gravel and mud. The detailed photos of his finds are gripping... Among the billionaire property speculation apartment blocks, this is the opposite of uncanny: the sense of continuity instead makes you a little tearful.'

(Sinclair McKay Spectator)