London Sophistication and Working Class Utility

The benefit of traveling around the world is the chance to live in different countries, not just visit. When you live there you get a better feel of the people, culture and city vibe. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the "Paris Mystique" which looked at the city of Paris from a photographic point of view.

But Paris is not the only city with a special reputation and feel. London, a city we lived in for a year and a half, has its very own character that translates very well in photographs. While Paris might be all about the art and joy of life, London is about sophistication. Everything in the city has a reason, a purpose and is named accordingly. While the French may enjoy their artistic disorder, the English have built their main city to reflect their love of order. London, the city of banking, industry and growth.

If there is a single author who captured the streets of London it would have to be Charles Dickens. Reading "Great Expectations" is like taking a walk down the city streets. His descriptions of the Thames ring so authentic that once seen, can not be confused for another.  London was such a vital part of Dickens's books that it grew beyond a backdrop and became a critical character.

Looking to photography we find many of the very basic beginnings of this art on the London streets. People have been photographing London since photography first was being tested.  William Henry Fox Talbot was one of the first and many of his images still exist today.  

On the left we have his image of Nelson's column being built in 1844. You can see the structure, the organization of the posters along the fence. One look at the stoic buildings in the background and you know you are in London.

This was the London of Dickens and it is the same London we see today. Jump forward 90 years and we find the same city.

Here we have a shot by Wolf Suschitzky shot in 1934. Here we see the wet London and the working class, pushing his burden through the streets. This is a central part of the theme of London, for few other cities have written so much of their working class, and the awful conditions that they lived in. In spite of the massive difference in economic classes, everyone keeps the system working. Everyone respects sophistication and order.

There are parts of London that have become central themes to its story. Covent Garden is a wonderful example. This market was set up around 1654 and has been evolving ever since. To the left the photograph was shot in 1925 but if we go back today we would see the same building however with very different shops. In 1925 it was a fruit and vegetable market while today it is a high end store geared for tourists.

Here is an image taken this year in Covent Garden. The architecture is the same, the items for sale have changed but it continues to be a gathering place for Londoners and tourists alike. 

While many would love to continue to see the vegetable market the prices they would have to charge to justify the location would make in inaccessible to most.

Here is a shot taken around 1900, of a street in front of Bank.  I have been down this street and while the dress has changed, you still see the busy city life. You will still see the well dressed bankers walking amongst the working class. That vibe of London has not changed. The sophistication is still there intermingled with working class efficiency. 

London continues to project images of something solid, firm, and ever lasting. The look of square utilitarian buildings, elegant phone booths and double decker buses continue to define a city.

The longevity of the famous buildings such as Elizabeth Tower, Covent Garden and Westminster Abby all continue to define the sophisticated style that London is known for.

The Thames river and the bridges that cross her continues to help keep London the same, in spite of so many changes. 

If Dickens were to be brought back to London today, he would see a changed economy and a modernized transport system, but he would see much of what he loved of London.

The same working class people, stopping for a break, looking over the sights and sounds that have made London famous. The chime of Big Ben, the horns of the boats traveling the Thames River, the quiet people on public transport. Since the advent of photography, London has been photographed and looking back over those images we can easily recognize the same city we have before us today. One of sophistication and working class utility.