Based at Cannon Workshops, Reg Beer’s business offers and archive of more than 1million items as well as a bespoke framing service
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Reg Beer is sitting in his workshop, premises that house an extraordinary collection of maps and antique prints from Docklands, Britain and all over the world.
It’s an archive that now extends to more than a million individual documents and images.
Frontispiece is the business he established in 1989 to trade in such items, later adding a framing service as a natural extension to its operation.
It – like Reg – continues to have a storied existence and deserves to be a natural point of exploration for anyone moving to this part of London and seeking something of the place they’ve relocated to.
It’s also a fantastic resource for interior designers seeking to bring an authentic connection to history in their creations.
Reg began buying prints and documents as a teenager, initially from dealers and then at auctions in lots of multiple items.
“I was interested in the history of east London when my dad was a lad in the 1890s,” he said.
“People didn’t really have things on the wall when I was growing up apart from stuff like ‘Jesus Saves’ or ‘Welcome Home’ – no artwork.
“But I’d put up these prints.
“A chap I used to buy from suggested I go to an auction and buy 500 prints in a single lot, keep the ones I wanted and then sell the rest on.”
from collector to dealer
However, it was some time before Reg would turn that enthusiasm into a business.
He worked as a “camera operator” for the press, snapping musicians and football games as well as garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
After about eight years of pressing the shutter, he “became fed up with that” and pursued another passion – the railway.
“I was a train-spotter as a kid,” he said.
“You’d be standing on the bridge and get swamped with smoke and steam. I became a fireman on diesel engines.
“You see things from the footplate you can’t see from the train. I loved it.”
After a spell travelling, he returned to the East End to work as a labourer at Truman’s Brewery, before deciding – on the advice of his brother – to apply to university.
This was despite having no qualifications, having left school at 15.
After successfully negotiating the entrance exam, he trained as a teacher, returning to east London to work in the classroom – a career that took him through to the launch of Frontispiece.
In his time, Reg has been a male model, photographed the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and Duke Ellington and has been a magistrate since 1986.
He’s a Freeman of the City Of London, a former master of the Worshipful Company Of Poulters and has held the positions of deputy mayor of Tower Hamlets and trustee at Whitechapel Art Gallery. He also plays a mean blues on the mouthorgan.
Having originally opened at Tobacco Dock in Wapping when it became a shopping centre, Frontispiece relocated to Canary Wharf to become the first retail business to open on the estate in the early 1990s, trading successfully in the malls for many years.
Today both his antique maps and prints business and framing services continue to operate from rooms at Cannon Workshops close to West India Quay.
an extensive inventory at Frontispiece
Like his life, Reg’s business contains multitudes.
His files and shelves are filled with images, documents, clippings and maps that tell stories.
“I have a particular focus on Docklands,” he said.
“For example, I have more than 500 images of the Great Eastern – Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship, which was built on the Isle Of Dogs as well as pictures of the engineer himself.
“Those are some of the most popular items we have.
“People also like to have maps of the places they’re living in and images of how these places used to be.”
Frontispiece has digitised more than 6,000 items, which are now available through its website.
Those browsing there will find everything from pages from The Illustrated London News in the 19th century to prints of flower fairies, sketches of ladies’ fashions, maps and images of maritime history.
There’s also a strong focus on military history, with Reg passionate about The Royal Regiment Of Fusiliers – based at the Tower Of London – which his father served with during the First World War.
fit for the wall
“We started offering frames while we were still at Tobacco Dock,” said Reg.
\“I’d met a chap at a trade fair who would come down from Bedfordshire with the sizes we needed.
“But he didn’t want to keep doing that, so he taught me and people started coming to us for that service.”
Whether for his maps and prints or a client’s own pieces, Reg offers a bespoke service in wood and metal.
One notable client is Sir Michael Caine’s wife, who had the actor’s medals framed for him from his time in the Fusiliers as a gift on his 90th birthday.
Frontispiece also created a golden frame for King Charles, who’d donated a copy of his favourite photograph of himself as a boy with his late mother to a charity auction, raising £35,000 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.
“We’re more than happy to discuss any job and if we can help, we will,” said Reg.
“Most people these days want frames that are quite simple, although some want designs that are more grand.
“The cost depends on how big the item to be framed is and the materials we’re using – what moulding we choose.
“We have all sorts of woods and metals in stock to suit what people want, starting at 48p per inch.”
As for the prints and maps, prices vary depending on size and rarity, but many are listed around £35 or £45.
key details: Frontispiece
Frontispiece is located at Cannon Workshops on West India Quay and is open from 8am-6.30pm on weekdays and from 10am-5pm on Saturdays.
Customers can browse antique maps and prints on the business’ website and also place orders.
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