A simple and effective collection
4 stars
True to its title, this is a collection of Victorian and Edwardian photos of London, showing the architecture, street activity, and some characters of the city. It's difficult to review this kind of book: either you want more photos of this setting, or you don't.
The photos are dated, some approximately. Most are from the 1880s and later, though a substantial number are from the 1870s, and a few are earlier. They are sorted by a mix of location, social class, and activity, but despite the apparent chaos of that, it's easy enough to find what you're looking for. The descriptions for photos of locations name the streets and landmarks, while the descriptions for photos of people tend to be much more sparse, even for those sourced from the 1877 Street Life in London, which provided more information.
The quality of the printing isn't great, and most of the photos …
True to its title, this is a collection of Victorian and Edwardian photos of London, showing the architecture, street activity, and some characters of the city. It's difficult to review this kind of book: either you want more photos of this setting, or you don't.
The photos are dated, some approximately. Most are from the 1880s and later, though a substantial number are from the 1870s, and a few are earlier. They are sorted by a mix of location, social class, and activity, but despite the apparent chaos of that, it's easy enough to find what you're looking for. The descriptions for photos of locations name the streets and landmarks, while the descriptions for photos of people tend to be much more sparse, even for those sourced from the 1877 Street Life in London, which provided more information.
The quality of the printing isn't great, and most of the photos are half-page or smaller, but they're varied and interesting. They might not do for fine details, but they evoke the atmosphere of all these different places very well. While Lost London is the main book I'd recommend for Victorian London architecture reference, this is the one I'd suggest if you want to capture the busy, noisy streets. There's a lot of life captured here.