The Cheap Fish of St. Giles's c.1877

The cheap fish of St. Giles's. The Victorian (street) fish seller, or costermonger, supplied fish at very low prices, the fish was then delivered door to door. This photograph shows a costermonger with group of his customers at St. Giles's in about 1877. The image is taken from a series of 37 photographs published in the book, 'Street Life in London' (1877), with text written by John Thomson and the journalist Adolphe Smith. After taking photographs in the Far East, Thomson opened a portrait studio in London in 1875. Two years later he collaborated with the journalist, Adolphe Smith, to produce 'Street Life in London'. The book was conceived as a follow-up to Henry Mayhew's famous study, 'London Labour and the London Poor' (1861–2). The photographs were used to guarantee the book's authenticity.