Jack London’s Extraordinary Photos of London’s East End in 1902 – Design You Trust

Jack London’s Extraordinary Photos of London’s East End in 1902

Men sleeping in Green Park.

In 1902 the American author Jack London visited his namesake city – at the time when it was still the largest in the world. In a book that became to be known as The People of the Abyss he described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets.

It was said that about half a million people were living in these awful and terrible conditions in Britain’s capital city. London took the photographs that illustrated his extraordinary book (between 1900 and 1916 the American writer took more than 12 thousand photographs).

London was most disturbed by the number of “old men, young men, all manner of men, and boys to boot, and all manner of boys” who had no other choice other than to sleep on the streets. “Some were drowsing standing up; half a score of them were stretched out on the stone steps in most painful postures…the skin of their bodies showing red through the holes, and rents in their rags.”

h/t: flashbak, buy prints

Spitalfields at the junction of Commercial Street and Brushfield Street. The building at the right is Spitalfields Market. To the left is a branch of the Pearce & Plenty cafe chain, with a sign for the General Gordon Temperance Hotel.

Men working in casual ward of workhouse picking oakum – teasing out of fibres from old ropes and was very hard on the fingers.

Inside the courtyard of Salvation Army barracks Sunday Morning.

An East End Slavey (a maidservant, especially a hard-worked one.)

Bank Holiday, Whitechapel.

A street in Wapping

“Gigantic dosshouse” Rowton House, Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel

“A policeman shines a flashlight onto a young man sleeping on the sidewalk against a building. A sign displayed in a window to the left reads: “Truth The Weekly Newspaper.”

Homeless Women Spitalfields Garden (church yard of Christ Church)

Homeless men and women Spitifield Gardens (Christ Church churchyard).

Frying Pan Alley,(Situated close to Middlesex Street and Petticoat Lane market) Spitalfields

A group of men stand out on the stoop of a four-story brick building, while a few women and children walk by on the sidewalk. A sign over the entrance reads: “No. 1 Victoria Home for Working Men.” (original caption)

Whitechapel Infirmary -Wide view along the front of a long, four-story building with arched windows on the first floor. Two horse-drawn carriages are on the street in the distance. (original caption)

View in Stratford.

“Two relay system lodging, lodgers who have been on night work waiting till the beds of a doss house are vacated by men employed during the way.” – original caption

Under the arches of the bridges that span the Thames

Part of a room to let. A typical East End home where the people live, sleep, eat all in one room.

Mile End Road showing the People’s Palace

Casual ward of Whitechapel Workhouse above, beds rolled up on left and right

A shop where old clothes are sold – A group of children and a handful of adults, stand around a table that is covered with clothing. Jackets and coats are hung on an outside wall behind them, and shoes, hats, and other items sit on the ground around the table. (original caption)

View in Hoxton.

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Design You Trust Facebook page. You won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

“Blow Up to Be the Size You Want!” – Vintage Inflatable Bra Ads From the 1950s and 1960s
Creative Nightscape And Astrophotography By Jaxson Pohlman
Gods & Beasts: Raw Portraits Show An Ambiguous Hierarchy Between Humans And Animals
Incredible Graphic Posters Designed by Leo Marfurt in the 1920s and ’30s
13 Of The Best Photos From The First Half Of The B&W Child Photography Competition 2019
The Last Portrait Of Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali Showing The Destructive Effects Of Parkinson’s Disease
Compelling Portraits of People Who Abandoned Civilization for Life in the Wilderness
Spectacular Winning Photos of The Environmental Photographer of the Year 2021
Spectacular Winning Photographs from The World in Macro Contest 2020
This Harry Potter Themed Wedding Is Most Magical Thing Ever
Photos Show What Life of American Teenagers Looked Like in the 1980s
Superb Amusing Retro-Inspired Collages by Toon Joosen
"Fast & Curious": Adorable Images Of Four-Legged Friends Who Are The World's Fastest Dogs
Photographer Martin Usborne Revisits A Childhood Fear Of Being Left Alone In A Car
Walmart Keeps Posting Pictures of This Employee Posing With Stuff, She Goes Viral
Enchanting Photographs Of A Misty English Wood By Neil Burnell
Amazing Black and White Photos Capture Street Scenes of Liverpool in the 1980s
Great Dismal Swamp
Absolutely Heart Melting Pictures of Smiling Babies By Sandi Ford – Newborn Photography
Life Before World War II: Fascinating Color Photographs Capture Everyday Life in Budapest, Hungary in 1939
Inside Opower's Arlington Office: A robot, a Scooter and Many, Many Couches
French Photographer Sophie Fontaine Shoots Poignant Portraits In Film
Above And Beyond: The World's Best Drone Photography 2016 Winners
The Fascinating Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Portraits Made out Of Fruits, Vegetables and Fish, 1563-1591