Behind the shop facade

10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday, March 31, 2022 - Saturday, May 28, 2022

Clapham Library

Behind the Shop Facade tells the remarkable story of Maurice Dorfman, the grandson of Hyman and Sarah Dorfman who fled the anti-semitic pogroms in Ukraine (then a part of Russia) at the end of the 19th century and arrived in London’s East end in 1902.

The Life of Maurice Dorfman tells the story of the Dorfman family, a Jewish family who fled the pogroms in Russia at the end of the 19th century, arriving in London’s East end in 1902 and eventually settling in Clapham in the 1950s and 60s, where they opened a dress making factory which subsequently became Jeannette Fashions, a haberdashery shop, at 19 Clapham High Street. Jeanette Fashions traded on the high street for some 60 years until the death of Maurice Dorfman in 2020 at the age of 87.

The exhibition includes slideshow and audio-recordings of Maurice and his memories. Photographer Jim Grover together with Susanna Elisabeth Brown from the V&A felt strongly that it needed to be in Clapham as the story of everyday life and community in Clapham over 6 decades.

The result is a piece of British social history spanning 120 years that has, at its centre, this remarkable man and his family’s business here in Clapham.  The story is filled with revelations and surprises as Maurice had lived many lives; it is told through a major photography exhibition as well as a 230 page book which will be published alongside the exhibition.

Welcome to Jeannette Fashions, and to the life of Maurice Dorfman!