Victorian Photography

Photography came to London in 1839 and changed the way people saw their city and fellow residents. I went to the London Metropolitan Archives to see their temporary exhibit about Victorian photography. I love seeing old photographs and these displays were really well done. Below are photos of some of my favourites.

This wall featured photography from a monthly magazine called Street Life in London by journalist Adolphe Smith and photographer John Thompson. They wanted to illustrate their findings about life for the poor to encourage social reform movements. 

The photos below came from a photography album of children who attended a fancy dress (costume) ball at Mansion House in 1899. There were several forms of entertainment at the party including a ventriloquist and the temporary photography studio was set up. 

Until the eighteenth century, London Bridge was the only way to cross the Thames River in London. The photo below shows the construction of Tower Bridge, now London's most famous bridge.

This next photo shows the opening of the Blackwall Tunnel which was attended by then Prince of Wales, Edward VII. The tunnel was another way to cross the river, this time going under the water, and combined foot, cycle, horse-drawn and automobile traffic. 

The photo below was one of my favourites from the exhibit. It shows the construction of a tunnel for the underground at Baker Street, which is a location now very familiar to me. They used an innovative cut and cover construction method to reduce costs and disruption. 

Lining the hallway were reprinted photographs from the Greenwich Heritage Centre. These street scenes included fish hawkers (and a hopeful cat), a champion pie maker, dairy vendor, buskers, and a young boy on a "Try Your Weight" machine. 

The photo below on the left shows a woman selling sherbet (a fizzy drink) while the one on the right shows a man selling ginger cakes. I love seeing how much has changed from these street vendors to the ones I purchase food from today.