Hidden inside No. 27¼ at Leadenhall Market in London, the Leadenhall Wunderkammer creates a miniature world among the market’s Victorian architecture and busy passages. The German word Wunderkammer translates as “room of wonder,” a fitting description for the installation, which encourages visitors to look through tiny windows and explore details linked to the market’s past and present.
Inspired by historic cabinets of curiosities, the Wunderkammer contains three miniature storefronts. Lilliput Cards takes its name from the island of tiny people in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and sells small postcards featuring famous London landmarks.
Tronage Yarns references Leadenhall’s medieval trading history. In the 15th century, wool merchants visiting the market paid a tax called wool tronage to have their goods weighed. The name of the tiny shop recalls that earlier connection to the wool trade.
The third storefront, the Leadenhall Film Library, highlights productions filmed in and around the market. Its miniature displays include references to Slow Horses and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Leadenhall Market served as the exterior entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in the latter film.
Above the storefronts, a serving hatch draws inspiration from Florence’s wine windows. It offers sweets, coffee, wine and other exclusive products. Viewing the miniature shops is free, while items from the serving window require payment. The window operates from Thursday to Saturday, between 2 and 6 p.m.
The installation is influenced partly by Victorian miniature theatres and is designed to reward close observation. Located down a short hallway between Reiss and Barbour, it invites visitors to look beyond Leadenhall Market’s grand arches and painted details and notice the smaller features concealed within its surroundings.
Sources: Atlas Obscura.