London’s East End. Life Through The Eyes Of American Author, Jack London, 1902
In the early 20th century, London stood as a mighty symbol of the British Empire’s power and wealth, its skyline punctuated by architectural marvels and the rhythmic hum of industry. Yet beneath this facade of prosperity lay a much grimmer reality—a reality of extreme poverty, squalor, and homelessness, largely hidden from the public eye. Jack London, better known for his tales of adventure like The Call of the Wild and White Fang, peeled back this veil in a way few others had done. Through his foray into photography, London captured a side of the British capital that many had ignored, revealing the true conditions of the city’s destitute masses.
His journey into London’s East End in 1902 was a significant departure from his literary reputation. Armed with a camera and a journalist’s notebook, Jack London documented the lives of the city’s impoverished, humanising them in a way few journalists had dared to do.
In a book that became to be known as The People of the Abyss he described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets. It was said that about half a million people were living in these awful and terrible conditions in Britain’s capital city. London took the photographs that illustrated his extraordinary book (between 1900 and 1916 the American writer took more than 12 thousand photographs).
London was most disturbed by the number of “old men, young men, all manner of men, and boys to boot, and all manner of boys” who had no other choice other than to sleep on the streets. “Some were drowsing standing up; half a score of them were stretched out on the stone steps in most painful postures…the skin of their bodies showing red through the holes, and rents in their rags.”
London had trouble finding anyone to show him the East End:
“But you can’t do it, you know,” friends said, to whom I applied for assistance in the matter of sinking myself down into the East End of London. “You had better see the police for a guide,” they added, on second thought, painfully endeavouring to adjust themselves to the psychological processes of a madman who had come to them with better credentials than brains. “But I don’t want to see the police,” I protested. “What I wish to do is to go down into the East End and see things for myself. I wish to know how those people are living there, and why they are living there, and what they are living for. In short, I am going to live there myself.” “You don’t want to live down there!” everybody said, with disapprobation writ large upon their faces. “Why, it is said there are places where a man’s life isn’t worth tu’pence.” “The very places I wish to see,” I broke in. “But you can’t, you know,” was the unfailing rejoinder.”
According to Michael Shelden, George Orwell‘s biographer, the English writer had read London’s book while in his teens and greatly inspired as can be seen in Down and Out in Paris and London and the Road to Wigan Pier.
The People of the Abyss was published in 1903 the same year as his novel Call of the Wild was serialised – bringing London international fame. London later said: “Of all my books, the one I love most is The People of the Abyss. No other work of mine contains as much of my heart.”
Jack London: Adventurer, Novelist, Photographer
Born John Griffith Chaney in 1876 in San Francisco, California, Jack London was no stranger to poverty. Raised by a struggling single mother, London experienced homelessness and hardship from an early age. His youth was spent working odd jobs and travelling the world as a sailor, eventually leading him to the Klondike Gold Rush. It was here that his literary talents began to blossom, drawing from the harsh realities of life in the wilderness to create vivid tales of survival.
While London is primarily remembered as an author, his keen eye for detail and empathy for the downtrodden made him a powerful documentary photographer. His work in London was driven not only by a fascination with the urban underclass but also by his socialist leanings, which propelled him to expose the injustices suffered by the poor. His experience living among the homeless and impoverished in America had already given him the insight that poverty was a universal condition, not confined by borders.
In 1902, at the height of his literary fame, London travelled to London, England. There, he embarked on a radical project—living among the poor and documenting their conditions both in writing and photography. His observations would form the basis for The People of the Abyss (1903), a searing indictment of the social and economic inequality that plagued London at the time. While the book focused primarily on written descriptions, his photography complemented these words, capturing the faces and living conditions of those he met.
The East End: London’s Underbelly
To truly understand Jack London’s photography, it’s essential to place it within the context of the area he chose to document: the East End of London. At the turn of the century, the East End was a sprawling, overcrowded district where the poorest of the poor resided. The area had long been associated with destitution and vice, home to the city's largest concentration of slums, sweatshops, and workhouses.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, London was a global hub, attracting migrants from across the British Empire and Europe, many of whom settled in the East End. The population density was staggering, with thousands crammed into decaying tenement buildings. According to reports, the East End population grew by 50% between 1801 and 1901, resulting in around 600,000 people living in appalling conditions by the turn of the century. Many were unable to find regular work, and those who could often laboured in exploitative conditions for minimal wages.
Sanitation was virtually non-existent in many parts of the East End. Raw sewage would often flow through the streets, contributing to outbreaks of diseases like cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. The life expectancy in these areas was abysmally low; for men in the East End, it was as little as 29 years, compared to 55 for those in wealthier districts.
Jack London’s Photographic Exploration
What set Jack London apart from other journalists and social commentators of his time was his willingness to immerse himself in the world he wished to document. Rather than merely observing from a distance, London lived among the poor in the East End, often disguising himself to avoid suspicion. This hands-on approach allowed him to gain the trust of the locals and capture their lives with unflinching honesty.
His photography was raw and direct, a reflection of the grim realities he encountered. One of his most famous photographs shows a group of homeless men sleeping outside on the Embankment, their faces weathered and gaunt, their clothing ragged. Another stark image features a mother and her children huddled together in a squalid alleyway, their expressions a haunting blend of despair and resignation.
London’s subjects were not posed or idealised; they were captured as they were—exhausted, malnourished, and downtrodden. In doing so, London succeeded in humanising the poor in a way that few others had. His photography stood in contrast to the sensationalised depictions of poverty often found in newspapers of the time, which tended to blame the poor for their plight.
London’s Techniques and Impact
Jack London’s approach to photography was highly innovative for its time. While he was not a trained photographer, his keen observational skills and sense of narrative allowed him to create powerful images that told a story. He used a simple box camera, relying on natural light and candid moments to create his compositions. This gave his work a sense of immediacy and authenticity, as if the viewer were walking alongside him through the streets of the East End.
In many ways, London’s work can be seen as a precursor to modern documentary photography. His focus on the human condition, his use of candid photography, and his desire to expose social injustice would influence generations of photojournalists to come. His photographs were not only a record of the physical environment but also a commentary on the systemic issues that kept people trapped in poverty.
London’s work had a profound impact on public perceptions of poverty in Britain. The People of the Abyss, along with his photographs, shocked middle and upper-class readers who were largely unaware of the extent of the suffering taking place within their own city. The book sold well and helped to spark debates about social reform, particularly regarding housing and labour conditions.
To fully appreciate the magnitude of what Jack London captured in his work, it’s essential to understand the broader social and economic context of the time. The late Victorian and Edwardian periods were marked by severe inequality, with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few while vast numbers of people lived in abject poverty.
Poverty Rates: By 1900, over 30% of London’s population was living in poverty, according to social reformer Charles Booth’s survey. This meant that nearly 1.2 million people in the city were unable to afford basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.
Homelessness: Homelessness was rampant, particularly in the East End. A 1904 report by the Salvation Army estimated that there were as many as 100,000 homeless people in London, with many of them sleeping rough in parks, alleyways, and under bridges.
Workhouses: For those unable to find work, the workhouse was often the last resort. These institutions, meant to house the poor and unemployed, were notorious for their harsh conditions. Inmates were required to perform grueling labour, such as breaking stones or picking oakum, in exchange for basic food and shelter. The conditions were intentionally made miserable to deter people from seeking assistance.
Child Mortality: One of the most heartbreaking aspects of poverty in London was the high rate of child mortality. In some parts of the East End, as many as one in three children died before reaching the age of five, often due to preventable diseases like diarrhoea, measles, and whooping cough. Malnutrition and lack of access to clean water were major contributors to these deaths.
Life Expectancy: As mentioned earlier, life expectancy in the poorest districts of London was shockingly low. In some areas, men and women could expect to live only into their late 20s or early 30s, compared to their wealthier counterparts in the West End, who often lived into their 50s and 60s.
Labour Conditions: Many of those who did find work were employed in dangerous and exploitative conditions. Factories, sweatshops, and docks employed thousands of workers, often paying them less than a living wage. Women and children were particularly vulnerable, often working long hours for pitifully low pay.
Jack London’s work in the East End was a pioneering effort in both photography and social journalism. His ability to blend writing with visual storytelling created a powerful narrative that brought attention to the plight of the poor in ways that had not been done before. While his time in London was relatively brief, the impact of his work reverberated for decades, influencing not only photojournalism but also social policy.
His photographs remain a haunting reminder of a period in London’s history when the city’s most vulnerable citizens were ignored and neglected. These images, coupled with his unflinching prose, forced a society accustomed to averting its gaze to confront the harsh realities faced by its underclass. In this way, Jack London's work transcended the boundaries of journalism and photography, becoming a call to action for social change.
London’s contribution to the photographic documentation of poverty set the stage for later works by prominent photographers such as Jacob Riis, who would document similar conditions in New York, and Lewis Hine, who exposed the plight of child labourers in America. His work serves as an important historical document, providing a visual archive of a time and place that many would prefer to forget but must always remember.
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