Saturday 12 January 2013

London Underground's birthday album

There was lots of excitement about London Underground's 150th birthday this week, and one of its nicest manifestations was the sharing of historical images. Here are some of my favourites; if you've seen any others, I'd love to hear about them. 

The Science Museum had a lovely selection, from the first journey a year before opening, to early electric trains, to people sheltering in the Second World War. The various construction images are particularly good. The Guardian also created a gallery of photographs covering the network's history, as did the Independent and the Telegraph. History comes back to life in London Reconnections' coverage of the rehearsal for steam's return to the Underground this weekend. 

Exploring 20th Century London looked not at photographs but at London transport posters - a high point of  its heritage. Smitten by Britain also chose her (slightly irreverent) favourites. Victorian London shared a cross-section of Embankment station, and London Historian has a nice selection of Punch cartoons.

Perhaps the most famous image of the Underground is its map, and the BBC illustrated its development while Google used it as the basis for a celebratory doodle

Moving slightly away from image-based articles, people rather than pictures were the focus for BBC News, who looked at families whose history is intertwined with the Underground's. Meanwhile, Randomly London listed an epic 150 posts, from assorted media and around the world, about the anniversary. 

Finally, I've already shared British Pathe's film archive of the Underground, and a few photographs of my own.



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