The Notting Hill Carnival is traditionally held over the bank holiday weekend at the end of August in West London, passing by brutalist icon Trellick Tower. Starting in 1959, low key and indoors, 1973 was the year school teacher Leslie Palmer answered an advert in Time Out for people who cared about the carnival  – it was in real trouble at this point, by 1974 he was firmly at the rudder shaping the carnival into the world’s second-largest. He was honoured with an MBE for his efforts.

‘I went to blues dances and found out about the Jamaican sound systems. I said ‘Let’s bring in the Jamaicans and they were very keen. I also went to Harrow Road and found the Dominicans and St. Lucians.  I knew they drink in a certain pub’

To get the flavour of what he did to accompany this brilliant book check out I Love Carnival

Photographer Chris Mills captures Notting Hill Carnival in 1974 …. and those sound systems!

Cafe Royal Books

Café Royal Books publishes limited edition Photobooks coveted by fans and collected by major institutions. The Zines focus on British documentary photography. Café Royal is run and founded by Craig Atkinson.

Craig explains ‘My aim is to create a focussed and complete archive of British documentary photography. I publish roughly 70 titles each year with a small edition ‘archive box’ every 100th title. These archive boxes are aimed at major collections, libraries and museums — helping to increase the visibility of the work and making the books publicly accessible for as long as possible. Collectors are wide and varied but include, MoMA NY, Harvard University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, The British Library, The Hyman Collection, Martin Parr Foundation, TATE, V&A / National Art Library’.

36 pages
14cm x 20cm
b/w digital