As early as in the 19th century the living conditions for the lower classes were the subject of photography. Henry Mayhew photographed the book London Labour and the London Poor, a representation of the depiction of London's working class.London Labour and the London Poor; selections made and introduced by Victor Neuburg, Penguin Classics 1985, The book was illustrated by woodcuts, from photographs by Beard. Thomas Annan published "Photographs of the Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow, 1868-77", a documentation of the slum areas in Glasgow. Yet another example is the book published by Smith and Thompson in 1877 "Street Life in London", which also documented social life. England was the birthplace of social documentary photography, given the advanced stage of industrialization, and its impact on society.
