The Passion of Former Days: London

Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

04 March, 2014

A Day in Hyde Park

Photographs of people enjoying the spring in Hyde Park, London, 1951. By Cornell Capa (brother of Robert).

Cornell Capa, LIFE © Time Inc.

Couples cuddling beneath the trees in the park. Source

Cornell Capa, LIFE © Time Inc.

A man feeding birds. Source

Cornell Capa, LIFE © Time Inc.

A nap in the sun. Source

Life in a London Hospital

A series of photographs capturing the experiences of workers and patients at a busy hospital in London, 1941.

From the Imperial War Museum.

Stretcher bearers carry a casualty into the hospital, while a 'tally man' (usually a student doctor) assigns a number. Source

A view of the hospital reception ward, with a doctor in the foreground preparing to take a x-ray with a mobile machine. Source

A doctor and nurse tend to a patient, while an almoner takes personal details. Source

A dip into the LIFE mystery photos (ie, those that are uncaptioned, collected only by subject). These come with the heading "Pai. Train. Royal. College. ". So, painters training at the Royal College [of Art, in London] presumably, and that seems to cover it, more or less. A lot of them are from the 20s, based especially on the hair (the majority of the women have very 1920s bobs), although I'm not sure if they were all taken at the same time; some look rather 40s or early 50s. Anyway though, as always with the LIFE mystery photos, the main point is to just enjoy some swell pictures!

Source

Allied Soldiers Like London and London Likes Them

A nice set of photos from the Ministry of Information capturing some of the non-British Empire troops in London, 1940. They came with the title.

From the Imperial War Museum.

Czech soldiers walk down a London street. Source

A policeman gives directions to a group of Free French soldiers. Source

Czech soldiers and airmen buy tobacco. Source

A Foggy Day in London Town

The famous "London Fog", in actuality, is smog. Early to mid- twentieth century, smoke from millions of chimneys combined with the damp air to hang over the city on a semi-permanent basis. Still, it's pretty, isn't it? 1947.

Source

Well.... it's pretty in black and white. This is it in colour.

Source

Truly lovely.

13 March, 2012

The West End is Awakening

London Transport suggests we visit the West End, London's entertainment district, for theatres, cinemas, and general going out. 1920s and 30s [except one].