London low life

London Low Life is a full-text searchable electronic resource, containing colour images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 19th and early 20th century London reproduced from original materials in the Lilly Library, Indiana University.|bThe collection brings to life the teeming streets of Victorian London, inviting students and scholars to explore its gin palaces, brothels and East End slums. From salacious 'swell's guides' to scandalous broadsides and subversive posters, the material sold and exchanged on London's bustling thoroughfares offers an unparalleled insight into the dark underworld of the city. Children's chapbooks, street cries, slang dictionaries and ballads were all part of a vibrant culture of street literature. The collection includes material by: Sir Walter Besant, George Augustus Sala, Pierce Egan, George Gissing, Gustave Dore, Blanchard Jerrold, Thomas Rowlandson, George Cruikshank, Josephine Butler, John Tallis, and the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts.