London 1870s and now~ 18 Pairs of Photos

[Sepiachord]

London 1870s and now~ 18 Pairs of Photos

http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/pointsofview/london-then-and-now/

<img src="http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/.a/6a00d8341c464853ef0120a51fb363970b-800wi">

[greatestescaper]

Marvelous.  At least some of these great structures remain standing today. 

[MalContent]

Very cool...my father gave me a book about my home town from the turn of the century ie early 1900's and if was really cool to see the changes of history.

[Capt. Dirigible]

There's a trend at the momemnt on things like facebook to  find an old photo of a particular street or area and to hold it up in front of your camera over the same view today to get a 'then and now' picture in the same shot.
I have a book called 'A Hackney Camera' which has shots of  the borough I live in taken in the mid to late 19th century and comparing them to the same streets/views in contemporary photos. However the book was published in the mid 1970's  so you get the double whammy effect of how it looked in the 1800's compared to how it looked in the 1970's to how it actually looks now some 40 years on..

[markf]

Also note there are additional photos at Prof L's related post at the end of last year.  markf
http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,20624.0.html

[Captain Lyerly]

I did this sort of thing with my pictures in Cairo some time ago; compared them with the Roberts artwork of the 19th century.  There were some changes, of course, mainly that the level of the street had risen, sometimes as much as four or five feet! 

For instance this gate:

is remarkably unchanged.

I have a book like that from my hometown as well; somewhere I also have a souvenir set of postcards from about 1905 that were never posted, so I have some pretty unique views... if I can ever find them!


Cheers!

Chas.

[Jemima Annabelle Clough]

I need to print the pic out of Staples Inn, then make lots of copies, just to hand out to people I overhear claiming the current facade is Tudor (I work just down the road from it)

[Theophilus Saxe]

Fascinating photos. I remember some years ago the BBC produced a series called History on your Doorstep, presented by Mastermind winner Fred Housego. It was full of hints and tips on how to read the signs of the past in the fabric of present-day buildings. With that as a guide I was able to see the roof of our local 13th century church once had a much higher pitch to it, while the walls contained some fragments of Roman masonry. It makes history seem so much more intimate.

[Silent Theatre]

Love them!!I have a photo of the Olde Curiosity shop from the 50's.I googled it and it hasnt changed much.
Great to see old photos and make comparisons.