Curious photos from the past of Great Britain (21 photos)

20 interesting and colored photographs taken by the best photographers in the UK are waiting for you.





A vendor of roasted chestnuts in Soho, London, UK, 1935.

What a friendly look, I even wanted chestnuts! The aroma of roasted chestnuts is comparable to the smell of freshly baked homemade bread and creates a unique coziness even on the street. Unfortunately, in our country only horse chestnut grows, it is not edible.



A walk past a steelworks. Consett, UK, 1974.

A factory means work, housing, money, prospects. No factory means slums, ghettos, migrants and drugs. This is the picture you see in many industrial cities around the world.





A train passes through densely populated areas along Kensal Rise, London, 1921.

These houses still exist today, with the building in the background being a primary school.



A night porter and a dachshund. London, 1938.



Photographer: Kurt Hutton

A Soviet hydrofoil arrives at Tower Pier, 8 August 1968.

The Soviet 100-passenger hydrofoil Raketa arrived at Tower Pier on the River Thames today, allowing Londoners to take a trip down the Thames for £1 a head.

The Raketa was shipped to many countries around the world, including the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, China, Vietnam, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Nicaragua.



Schoolgirl, gold medalist of the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize at London Zoo, 1971.



Burmese women stroll through London, 1935.

The girls from Burma took part in a circus show, where they entertained the local public.



Joe Smith, a strongman blacksmith from Gloucester, holds a roadwork fence in his teeth. England, 1936.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, strongmen often demonstrated their incredible strength, both circus performers and athletes. At all times, there have always been and will be people who like to "attract" attention to themselves.



Nylon stockings undergo rigorous testing in the Mark's and Spencer's textile laboratory, 1955.

The first nylon tights appeared in the USA in 1939.



A baker. London, 1910. He rang a bell to attract customers as he walked the streets with his wares on a tray on his head.



Cutting with garden shears, UK, 1920.



"Caught the criminal!"

Demonstration of a new police special device designed to detain a fleeing offender. International Inventors Exhibition. London, 1969.



Drying skins in a warehouse in the port of London, 1930.



A dancer at the Hampstead Heath Fair, London, 1934



Photographer: Wolfgang Suschitzky

Three police officers test life jackets in the Port of London, 1930.



Photographers around a racing car at the Olympia Conference Hall, UK, 1971.

Did any of the photographers see the car?



Ladies on roller skates. London, 1926.

How elegant they all are, it's a joy to behold, nowadays they mostly wear trousers and jackets... and here they wear coats and hats.



A hatter's assistant stands on the brim of a top hat to show its strength. London, 1925.

You can safely work in such a top hat on a construction site, it will withstand everything.



A small boy with a tiny suitcase talks to the driver of a large Southern Railway locomotive before it leaves for Brighton. London, 1924.

This famous photograph formed the basis of an advertising campaign for British Railways. An image that was used by various carriers throughout the 20th century, either in posters or with new locomotive models.



Photographer: Charles E. Brown

Children's entertainment in England. Newcastle, 1979.

"A man is a boy who accidentally survived", and it doesn't matter what country you grew up in. Unfortunately, such games often ended very sadly. The injury rate was objectively higher, there were more disabled children. Statistics are merciless.



Photographer: Tish Murt