London Characters and Crooks, Henry Mayhew. Published by The Folio Society, London, 1996. 4to – over 9¾” – 12″ tall; 535pp. with sepia photographs by John Thomson, from Street Life of London, published 1877-1878; index. Edited and introduced by Christopher Hibbert. Green cloth boards with illustrations front and spine, green top edge. Housed in a black slipcase. Volume is in fine, unread condition; slipcase has very light shelf wear.
London Characters and Crooks is a compilation based on Mayhew’s ground-breaking documentary work “London Labour and the London Poor” originally published in 1851. Mayhew provides a highly detailed account and classification of London’s Victorian poor, the people at the margins — both workers and criminals, and those that drifted precariously between both camps.
