Amazon.com: Victorian London Street Life in Historic Photographs: John Thomson: Books

From Library Journal
This volume was originally published as Street Life in London in 1877. Through text and photographs the book profiles 36 members of London's underclass in the late 1800s. Some of the profiles are generic-"London Cabmen"; "Covent Garden Flower Women" -while others describe a particular person-" 'Hookey Alf' of Whitechapel." An interesting and unusual history and reference title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Classic document of social realism contains 37 photographs by famed Victorian photographer Thomson, accompanied by texts offering sharply drawn vignettes of laborers, dustmen, street musicians, shoe blacks, more. Astonishing historical detail.

Product Details

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (July 13, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486281213
ISBN-13: 978-0486281216
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #317,717 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#60 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Victorian

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover

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1 book cites this book:

Energy & Society: An Introduction by Harold H. Schobert in Front Matter

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pictures that DO say a thousand words, June 13, 2000

By	Don Gerstein (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews

John Thomson's photographs come alive in this reprint of his book Street Life in London, originally published in 1877. While the pictures present a striking view of the city's inhabitants, it is the commentary by Thomson and Adolphe Smith that draws you inside the lives of those Londoners who made their living on the streets. From cabmen to shoe-blacks, from ginger-beer makers to chimney sweeps, the reader is swept along from one fascinating career to another. However, while the past may be fascinating to you and I, to the people forever captured by the camera it was a daily battle just to get by. Thomson and Smith have eloquently combined words and photographs to create a stark and haunting view of the day-to-day existence of those Londoners trapped by birth at the bottom of the Victorian social ladder. The book is a stunning achievement, a piece of the past exposed. It fills a void and is a welcome complement to other books on the Victorian era.

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly depressing..., September 3, 2005

By	C. Loomis (Darmstadt, Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It was amazing to look at the real people of the late 19th century. They looked just like we do today, though fashion was very different. It was odd how healthy many of them looked and how heavy many of the women were. When one reads about the poor in 19th century London, thin, wasting away skeletons come to mind, in tattered rags. Instead I saw people with good builds and decent clothing. Their outfits might not have been the height of fashion and thrown together, but they looked like they kept out the cold. I wonder if the author specifically chose the better looking people to contradict how the poor really lived. The photographed people may also have had diseases not visible.

The section on "Crawlers" was very depressing though. The old woman with the small child huddled on the steps shows just how harsh the times were. Even still, it was odd that her clothes didn't look that bad.

The text for each section was filled with personal accounts and a good look at the life of different people. Overall this book was very interesting, though very small, so limited.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous resource for the amateur historian, historian, or writer, March 11, 2007

By	Lydia Joyce - See all my reviews

The photographs are an incomparable resource--the first of their kind--and the articles rival Henry Mayhew's in depth, clarity, and coverage. These pictures will lead you into the intricate and fascinating lives of the lower classes of London, with information that simply isn't available elsewhere. From independent boot blacks to chair-menders, the lives of those who left few to no records are recorded with simplicity and sympathy appropriate to the subjects.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Look at Victorian London
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