image creditIn the frantic pace of modern life, it is often easy to forget what life was once like for those who built the world we now live in. Photographer John Thompson took some fascinating black and white pictures that show the reality of existence in the 1800s when photography was in its infancy.
In 1876 he set out with writer Adolphe Smith and together the pair spoke to people and the shots were later published in a magazine named Street Life in London. The pictures, now stored at the Bishopsgate Institute, capture the lives of street beggars, chimney sweeps, street doctors and market sellers among many others. Each picture caption is accompanied by the words written by Mr Smith and originally printed in the monthly magazine.The Presurfer
