World’s First Acrylic Staircase
December 29, 1966
The London shop at 80 Jermyn Street was open from 1966 to 1986. Designed by Grima’s two brothers and sculptors Geoffrey Clarke and Brian Kneale, it featured the first perspex staircase ever built by Talbot Designs.
All made from 50mm acrylic with rubber tread inserted into machined grooves, it was constructed in under 4 weeks, in time for the grand opening attended by Royal family members, HRH Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon and celebrity Peter Sellers among others. As Princess Margaret descended the clear Perspex stairs in a short skirt, Peter Sellers was heard saying quietly “Eyes down gentlemen”.
