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Half a million years for you to discover

1789 - 1914 pictures

Victorian London grew very fast as it became home to the richest and poorest people. Imagine the lives of Hookey Alf and his Whitechapel friends. What would they think of the lady on the omnibus?

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Victorian flat iron

Victorian flat iron 1801-1901

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Skirt lifter

Skirt lifter, 1819-1901

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Glove stretcher

Glove stretcher, 1819-1901

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Leather child's boot

Leather child's boot, 1884-1890

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Candleholder and candle

Candleholder (1700-1900) and candle

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Button hook for fastening shoe/boot buttons

Button hook for fastening shoe/boot buttons, 1819-1901

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Boot jack in the shape of a beetle

Boot jack in the shape of a beetle, 1900

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Photograph of a painting showing the view from a boat on a lake in the park. On the right a man is pushing away from shore in a rowing boat with his family. A crowd of people line the shore, sitting on benches, reading newspapers in the shade of trees, playing with model boats and fishing. A wealthy family in pale colours stand in the middle and catch the sunlight. A carriage passes by behind, and in the background people stroll in the park.

'A Summer Day in Hyde Park' John Ritchie, 1858

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Toy soldiers, 1870-1900

Toy soldiers, 1870-1900

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Model of horse-drawn omnibus, c.1880

Model of horse-drawn omnibus, c.1880

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Photograph of the Great Wheel at Earle’s Court, 1898

Photograph of the Great Wheel at Earl’s Court, 1898

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Photograph of a painting showing horse-drawn cabs in front of a small building. In the background, roofs of taller buildings are barely visible through the thick fog.

'A London cab stand', 1888, John Charles Dollman

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Black and white print of a boy standing on the doorstep of a large house. He is covered in soot and carries brushes and other equipment. He is pulling a lever to ring a bell below him in the basement kitchen and has his mouth open as if calling out.

Victorian chimney sweep

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Poster for 'The Suffragette' weekly newspaper. It shows a woman in armour and tunic, reading 'Justice', and carrying a long green banner, which carries the letters 'W.S.P.U.'.

Poster for 'The Suffragette' newspaper, 1912 Edited by Christabel Pankhurst for the Women's Social and Political Union

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Historic black and white photograph of a woman sitting at a table in a poorly furnished room. Tools and brush parts sit on the table before her. On the left an older daughter minds a baby which is playing with a brush. On the right four children sit on a bed, helping or watching.

Making brushes at home A poor Victorian family work together making brushes

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Photograph of a toy theatre made from paper. There is a stage with curtains to each side and an arch above. Onstage is decorated scenery and paper puppets on sticks 'acting'.

Pollock's toy theatre, c. 1850

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Photograph of a painting showing a hazy street scene at dusk. The turrets of St Pancras station are visible on the skyline below a yellow cloud-filled sky. On the street there are trams and horse-drawn vehicles, as well as lots of people.

'From Pentonville Road looking west: Evening', 1884, John O'Connor

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View of Highbury Place and Highbury Fields, C.H. Matthews, c.1840

'View of Highbury Place and Highbury Fields', C.H. Matthews, c.1840

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Counter from Bugg’s grocers shop, c.1890

Counter from Bugg’s grocers shop, c.1890

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Circular black and white photograph taken along a narrow dead-end alley which is blocked by bollards. On the left a number of women stand in their doorways. Several children crowd the cobbled street, and rubbish can be seen in the gutter.

Historic photograph of a street scene John Galt, c.1890s Taken in Bethnal Green

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Photograph of a painting depicting a row of people seated inside an omnibus. From right to left there are: a poorer woman with two children, a well-dressed woman with a bunch of flowers, a gentleman in a top hat reading a newspaper and a young woman in a white dress. A woman with a hat-box is entering from the right hand end. Above them are several adverts. A horse-drawn carriage is just visible through windows behind them.

'The Bayswater Omnibus', 1895, George William Joy

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Photograph of part of the Rhinebeck panorama showing an aerial view of two bridges across a bend in the river. The foreground is crowded with the masts and sails of boats, and both banks show crowded streets with church spires rising above.

'The Rhinebeck Panorama', c.1807, artist unknown

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Chamber pot, c.1842

Chamber pot, c.1842

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Historic photograph of a street-scene. Two women with children are seated on a bench. Men stand behind them inside a shop or stall. More men in hats stand either side of them outside. The man on the left has a hook in place of his right hand.

'Hookey Alf', c.1877, John Thomson

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Photograph of a reconstructed shop on display in the World City galleries' Victorian walk. A wooden counter runs across the front, with samples of biscuits displayed along the front and scales on the right hand end. Shelves of storage tins run along the back wall, and a system of wires and levers hangs from the ceiling, used for moving canisters of money to the cashier.

Interior of Bugg's grocer's shop, Bayswater Reconstructed in the World City galleries' Victorian Walk

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Photograph of a white ceramic bowl shaped like an eggcup. It has a colour print of a shackled black man under a palm tree. The back, which is not visible, has an anti-slavery message.

Sugar bowl, c.1825 Sold to raise money for the campaign against slavery

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Photograph of a mannequin wearing a red gown with gold and fur trim down the front, and a matching cape with a long train. She has a gold cord around her waist and a jewelled crown on her head.

Queen Victoria’s Coronation gown, 1838

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Photograph of a painting in a sentimental Victorian style, showing two poor boys looking in a shop window. The older stands on the right and wears a red jacket and cap. His box of shoes polishes lies on the pavement to the right. Several black and white prints are displayed in the window, and the shoe-black points to the portrait of a man, Lord Shaftesbury, above them.

'Shaftesbury' or 'Lost and Found' William MacDuff, 1862 A uniformed shoe-black shows his young friend a portrait of Lord Shaftesbury, founder of the London Shoe-Black Brigade

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Colour print of the view down one aisle of the Crystal Palace. The iron structure of the building, with pillars, rails and cross-beams is visible on every surface. Large exhibits are on display on the ground along the long aisle, and items from different countries are grouped in bays between the pillars down each side, two storeys high. Persian pictures can be seen on the bottom left, and Chinese vases and wallpaper are visible on the bottom right.

The Great Exhibition, 1851 Showing the interior of the Crystal Palace and the Foreign Department

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Historic photograph of ten women crowded into an open-top vehicle. They are wearing prison clothes with arrows printed on, and large badges. All of them are smiling and waving their hands, hankies and a banner as they process down a street.

Suffragettes in prison clothing, 1908

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Photograph of a painting showing the view from Blackwall, looking along the river towards Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs. Traffic on the river includes barges, rowing boats and a steamship. Sailing boats lie in dock on the right.

'Blackwall', 1872, Charles Napier Hemy

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Photograph of Olive Wharry, suffragette, after 32 day hunger strike in Holloway prison, 1913

Photograph of Olive Wharry, suffragette, after 32 day hunger strike in Holloway prison, 1913

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Poster for Alexandra Palace, 1876-1885

Poster for Alexandra Palace, 1876-1885

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