 | |
| Authors | Adolphe Smith (words) and John Thomson (photos) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Working class Londoners |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Published | London |
| Publisher | Sampson Low |
Publication date | 1877 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
Street Life in London was a 1877 book written by Adolphe Smith with photography by John Thomson.
The book is one of the first examples of social documentary photography.
Street Life in London was a 1877 publication of a collaboration between the radical [1] social journalist Adolphe Smith and Scottish photographer John Thomson. [2] [3] It was published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, in London. [1]
The authors believed they were continuing the important work of Henry Mayhew, who published London Labour and the London Poor , but that they were adding a unique value by incorporating photography to the ongoing documentation of London's working class poor. [4]
The book gives the reader an insight into the daily lives of working class and poor Londoners. [5] It is arranged around photographs by Thomson with accompanying text by Smith. [5] The texts are brief, but include detail, including information from interviewing the photograph's subjects. [1] Subjects include flower-sellers, chimney-sweeps, shoe-blacks, chair-caners, musicians, dustmen and locksmiths. [1]
Street Life in London is considered the first [6] or at least one of the earliest examples of social documentary photography. [2] The book described its aim "to bring before the public some account of the present condition of the London street folk, and to supply a series of faithful pictures of the people themselves." [2]
Author Emily Kathryn Morgan published Street Life in London: Context and Commentary in 2014 which addresses both the successes and failures of the original book. [7]