An Edinburgh 'institution' that no one ever visited has finally closed its doors

Edinburgh's answer to Hamburg's Reeperbahn attracted some opposition over the years, as this graffiti from 1990 shows | The Scotsman

Nostalgia is back in fashion. A new series of Jilly Cooper’s bonkfest Rivals begins on TV next month, revelling in the excesses of the Eighties, and the biggest exhibition of the year is set to be Tate Britain’s celebration of the Nineties, opening later in the summer.

It’s no surprise really. When things are grim, the tendency has always been to look back to when life seemed to be better. However, it has come too late to save an Edinburgh institution specialising in how things used to be.

Hamburg has the Reeperbahn, Amsterdam has Rembrandtplein and Edinburgh had 60 Elm Row. Passing on a tram the other day, I noticed the shutters were down, the ‘For Sale’ sign was up and an era had finally reached its climax.

According to legend, the Private Shop sold adult magazines and DVDs. Of course, I don’t know this for certain because I’ve never been inside but then, who has? With retail in the doldrums, how did a shop with a business model rooted in the backstreets of Soho in 1982 keep going in Edinburgh for so long?

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Perhaps the customers hadn’t heard of the interweb. What else did they have in there? Vesta Beef Curry, Creamola Foam, Spacehoppers? Maybe the owner was Mr Benn and the shop was actually a portal to another time? One thing is for sure, no one’s ever going to find out now.

The last sweaty customer has finally discovered broadband and realised what they’re looking for actually takes up vast swathes of the internet, not just a dusty shopfront on the way down to Leith. It now joins other retailers disappearing into the past.

I still miss Corson Hardware. Despite the name, for legal reasons I should point out that at no stage did it ever sell adult products unless your definition stretches to rat traps and wallpaper paste. A Stockbridge institution, Corson’s was like the Tardis with endless stocks of paraffin and an approach to customer service modelled on Soviet supermarkets during a particularly serious bread shortage.

It closed four years ago and has been replaced by a hipster sandwich shop flogging prosciutto in focaccia for £12. Mr Corson would have sold you a lawnmower, a tin of varnish and a year’s supply of slug pellets for the same price.

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These long-running Edinburgh institutions are becoming few and far between as bricks and mortar retail struggles to survive in the online age.

Ceramic shop John Donald and Co on Bristo Place is also closing as the owner retires after half a century selling china and glassware to the good citizens of Morningside and beyond. The building is steeped in history and Society of Antiquaries Scotland is currently trying to raise £1.5m to secure its future and turn it into a national heritage hub.

There’s another ray of hope in the shape of the greatest Edinburgh shopping institution of them all. After a seven-year multi-million-pound refurbishment, Jenners is expected to reopen next year, reviving the brand on Princes Street.

It’s set to offer a modern retailing experience but wouldn’t it be nice if it also had a battered display case with some china saucers, a sink plunger and one of the Private Shop’s magazines as a tribute to those who’ve gone before?