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100 Years of London
100 Years of London presents a visual record of London at its best and worst, from the armistice at the end of World War I through to the modern day. The story is told through 300 photographs from the Press Association’s vast archives. Hand-picked by their own archivists, many of these pictures remained archived and unseen for years after they were first published in the newspapers and magazines of their day. Collected here in a new edition, they present an evocative and visual journey through the modern history that has made London the city it is today.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2019
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March 13, 2022
One thing that struck me as I read the introduction is how we take for granted the process of taking a photograph these days. We can quickly and easily just point and click with our smart phones. We don't even need a camera, the focussing and exposure are taken care of automatically, all we need to do is to compose the picture and click.
Back in 1919, the process was much more lengthy and complicated and the subject of the photograph had to remain very still. The results were not instant, developing film into pictures required significant time and resources. The advent of roll film greatly speeded up the process of taking a picture, however the film needed to be developed. Nowadays, Press Association (PA) photographers have much lighter equipment and can capture many more pictures in a shorter space of time.
This book visually takes us through 100 years of London, picture by picture. PA archivists have selected 300 pictures to tell the story of London from 1919 - 2019. The photographs are all black and white until 1952 where we see the introduction of color. The photographs become more predominantly in color as the decades go by. Deciding which photographs to include must have been quite an undertaking and we are truly fortunate to have archives with so much material to draw upon. The resulting book is a wonderful pictorial history of London, which is truly fascinating to gaze upon.
From the introduction, "London remains a world city and financial centre, a capitol of the arts and home of the music industry. It swung in the 1960s, marched and demonstrated in the 1970s, gave in to rampant greed in the 1980s then re-emerged as a cultural powerhouse with Cool Britannia in the 1990s. As the old Roman river crossing moves into her third millennium, the cameras of the PA's photographers are there to bear witness to what comes next."
Back in 1919, the process was much more lengthy and complicated and the subject of the photograph had to remain very still. The results were not instant, developing film into pictures required significant time and resources. The advent of roll film greatly speeded up the process of taking a picture, however the film needed to be developed. Nowadays, Press Association (PA) photographers have much lighter equipment and can capture many more pictures in a shorter space of time.
This book visually takes us through 100 years of London, picture by picture. PA archivists have selected 300 pictures to tell the story of London from 1919 - 2019. The photographs are all black and white until 1952 where we see the introduction of color. The photographs become more predominantly in color as the decades go by. Deciding which photographs to include must have been quite an undertaking and we are truly fortunate to have archives with so much material to draw upon. The resulting book is a wonderful pictorial history of London, which is truly fascinating to gaze upon.
From the introduction, "London remains a world city and financial centre, a capitol of the arts and home of the music industry. It swung in the 1960s, marched and demonstrated in the 1970s, gave in to rampant greed in the 1980s then re-emerged as a cultural powerhouse with Cool Britannia in the 1990s. As the old Roman river crossing moves into her third millennium, the cameras of the PA's photographers are there to bear witness to what comes next."
Displaying 1 of 1 review