Cleveland Museum of Art

London Nomades

John Thomson

Date

1877

Medium

woodburytype

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

“In London there are a number of what may be termed, owing to their wandering, unsettled habits, nomadic tribes,” wrote John Thomson’s collaborator, reporter Adolphe Smith. Living in wagons, they moved around the city, working seasonal jobs or selling cheap wares at fairs and markets or door to door. This wagon was owned by William Hampton, “a man of fair intelligence and good natural ability” who was, however, illiterate and had a “dread of education.”

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