Henderson's

Shop

Few records exist of Francis Henderson's early life, but he had connections with Russian émigrés and developed a passion for Russian literature, especially the works of Tolstoy. This drew him into the circle of Vladimir Chertkov, a prominent Tolstoyan and a pacifist anarchist, and from there into London's radical scene. Henderson demanded that Walter Scott publish Louise Maude's translation of the Tolstoy novel Resurrection in the public domain with the legend "no rights reserved" – when Walter Scott refused, Henderson left to start his own printing press which developed into a bookshop for radical writing.

The advertising potential of the shop's nickname was quickly recognised, and both adverts and imprints proudly bear the text 'The Bomb Shop'. This boldness extended to the shop itself, which was painted in a red and gold Arts and Crafts style by Walter Crane and prominently featured the names of past rebels – a target for vandals politically opposed to the Bomb Shop, who would repaint it in blue and white and sometimes break in and destroy the interior. There were many rooms above Henderson's, and these proved to be excellent hiding places for fugitives. The suffragist Hugh Franklin hid out at Henderson's for two months after setting fire to a railway carriage in protest for women's suffrage.

The shop also proved to be radical in its acceptance of technology. The first Penguincubator, an early book vending machine developed by Allen Lane of Penguin Books, was installed at the shop.