Photography on the Common

John Thomson (1837-1921) made this photograph of a mobile outdoor portrait photographer for his publication Street Life in London (1878). The people in the pictures were arranged or posed by Thomson to form interesting compositions. However, the results were often naturalistic because the subjects and surroundings were always authentic. Thomson used the 'Woodburytype' process patented in 1864 for the images in the book, including this photograph. This was a type of photomechanical reproduction using pigmented gelatin, usually of a rich purple-brown colour. The process was complicated but remained popular until about 1900 because of the high quality and permanence of the finished images.