City of London, King William Statue and Eastcheap c1913

City of London, King William Statue and Eastcheap circa 1913. In this animated postcard by the publishers C. & A. G. Lewis of Nottingham we can see the King William IV statue that was erected in 1844. The statue faced London Bridge. The statue was moved to King William Walk, Greenwich Park in 1938. It now stands on a far less impressive plinth. In the distance on the left we can see Eastcheap. Unfortunately only one building from the postcard's time has survived into the 21st century - the domed building in the middle distance directly above the rear part of the bus on the left. This bus is on its way to Croydon from Liverpool Street. The bus on the right has come from Ealing and is nearly at its destination, London Bridge Station, just over the river. Behind the statue is one of the entrances to Monument Underground station. For a couple of other views of the King William IV statue and this area have a look at this earlier post. Postcards by C. & A. G. Lewis are often of the highest quality and are very collectable. This one is no exception. I am particularly struck by the woman on the extreme left of the picture and the old man wearing a boater talking to a policeman on the right. This postcard has been scanned at 300dpi (1575 x 988 pixels) so it may be worth downloading to your computer to see all of the detail. Click the postcard to enlarge (then right-click, 'save image as' if you wish to save it to your computer).

For more old images have a look at this week's Sepia Saturday blog.

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Corston, Somerset, The Schools, 1910

Corston, Somerset, The Schools, 1910. Corston is a small village in Somerset to the west of Bath. The Schoolhouse is now a private house, shielded from public view by bushes and trees. I can find no reference on Google to it ever being a school, but the postcard does not lie. This postcard was published by Young & Co of Teddington in 1910.

For more old photos why not visit Sepia Saturday. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Holborn, London c1910

Holborn, London circa 1910. For some reason the publisher has attempted to make this scene look busier than it actually was - the car in the centre of the postcard has been crudely grafted onto the picture and a shadow has been painted underneath it. The scene was already very busy and I can't think what benefit this would have achieved. Everything else in the photo appears to be correct. Perhaps it is there to cover up a blemish on the negative. Postcard by W. H. Smiths in their 'Kingsway' series. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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