9th April 1913. a Demonstration of a Vacuum Cleaner for the London Streets
The photograph shows 9th April 1913. A demonstration of a vacuum cleaner for the London streets, with representatives of the London Corporation in the car. It was taken in 1913, and like the best archival images it needs almost no explanation — the frame tells its own story.
The 1910s were a decade of upheaval. The First World War (1914-1918) pulled millions into uniform and redrew the map of Europe, while on the home front automobiles, telephones, and moving pictures were rapidly becoming part of ordinary life.
Pictures of ordinary life are some of the most valuable historical documents we have. Grand events were always going to be recorded, but a normal day — how people worked, dressed, shopped, and passed the time — survives only when someone happened to point a camera at it.
