Molayem ART Magazine International Art Magazine
Black Panthers, punks and brutalist buildings: the micro-publisher exploring Britain’s lost past
Every week, Café Royal publishes books highlighting forgotten architecture or subcultures, celebrating the work of amateur and professional photographers. And they cost less than a London pint
In 2005, Craig Atkinson was walking around Edinburgh fingering the engagement ring in his pocket, and wondering where to propose. Upon entering the grand Victorian bar Café Royal, he was swept away by its beauty. “But I thought it’ll end up going down as: ‘Oh, he proposed to me in the pub,’” he says. “So, I didn’t.”
In the end he proposed on the steps in front of the Scottish National Gallery, but he couldn’t shake that pub. At the time Atkinson was working as an artist but was growing tired of having to work on a piece for months.
