Today's Special: Jack of all Trades

In my hallway, I have a framed advert from 1910. It is promoting one Alexander R. Arnott, a hairdresser, perfumer and wigmaker whose shop used to occupy 4 Electric Parade, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill. I like having a record of the history of the area in which I live; like imagining the way the streets I walk every day would have looked a century ago.

I also like looking at the language. It's so formal. My favourite line even chucks in a bit of Latin for good measure: "Advice gratis on all matters relating to the hair."

Sometimes I idly wonder if, in a hundred years' time, a resident of Tulse Hill will decorate a hallway with a framed hairdresser advert from 2011. I wonder if that person too will spend time imagining what their surroundings might have been like a century before. Most importantly, will that person realise that in 2011 the English language wasn't being treated with quite as much respect as in 1910? Take this sign for the current occupant of 393 Norwood Road:

So basically good at nothing, then?

Specialising in everything, eh? Mr Alexander R. Arnott, who provided advice gratis on all matters relating to the hair, would no doubt be bemused by the language used in modern advertising.

(Incidentally, the print of the Alexander R. Arnott ad came from Lambeth Landmark, a website which "showcases the best 10,000 images from Lambeth Archives collection of over 50,000 photographs, drawings, prints and watercolours" and allows you to order reproductions. If you live in Lambeth, or have any vague interest in the borough, I highly recommend a visit.)