An Old Clothes Shop, Seven Dials

1877

Street Life in London: An Old Clothes Shop, Seven Dials, 1877. John Thomson (Scottish, 1837–1921). Woodburytype; image: 11.5 x 9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.); paper: 11.5 x 9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.); mounted: 27.1 x 20.8 cm (10 11/16 x 8 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Photography Discretionary Fund 2019.51 According to John Thomson’s collaborator, journalist Adolphe Smith, the dealers in this neighborhood were sources of last resort for those trying to sell items that had already been rejected by pawnbrokers. They were also where “the majority of those individuals who earn a promiscuous livelihood in the streets of London succeed in clothing themselves for a minimum outlay.” When this photo was taken, Seven Dials, a London neighborhood linking Covent Garden to Soho, was a slum that housed shops that bought and sold used clothing and furniture.