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Tony Armstrong Jones In The East End

September 19, 2017
by the gentle author

Tony Armstrong Jones (1930-2017) is remembered today as Lord Snowdon, husband to Princess Margaret, yet – before all that royal hullabaloo took over his life – he was a jobbing photographer in his twenties and took these photographs of the East End, as published in his book LONDON in 1958.

Cheshire St

Sclater St Market, Sunday Morning

Bomb site, St Mathias School, Bethnal Green

Rathbone St Market, Canning Town

Rathbone St Market, Canning Town

Garage hand, Stepney

The Magpie & Stump, Cable St

The Railway Tavern, West India Dock Rd – open 6am to 8am

Cafe in East India Dock Rd

Wens Cafe, Bethnal Green

Tattoo parlour

Tower of London

Smithfield Market

Christmas in Cable St

Pub in Cable St

Juke Box Dance

Deuragon Arms, Hackney

Bethnal Green Rd

Photographs copyright © Estate of Tony Armstrong Jones

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9 Responses leave one →
  1. Jules permalink
    September 19, 2017

    Stunning work. The last image so poignant.

  2. September 19, 2017

    Great pictures
    What were all those hands for ????!!!

  3. September 19, 2017

    Wonderful, atmospheric photos of the London of my childhood. Valerie

  4. September 19, 2017

    I disregard the strength of his name. Dramatic B/W studies so much power here, could memorize one. Even here I love his work photo craft at its best. Poet John

  5. Bernadette permalink
    September 19, 2017

    Looks like they were work gloves gone hard. Something to do with whatever is in the pots below maybe?

  6. September 19, 2017

    Each image, a novel. The boy reading intently in the midst of the busy market — the image totally captures how it feels to disappear into a paragraph of text. And speaking of words, notice the
    “heaven/hell” graphics above the nativity scene, with two men looking on. Their eyes locked on the illuminated scene, the words above are lost and superfluous.
    An amazing series – endless shadings, moods and narratives.
    Many thanks.

  7. Helen Breen permalink
    September 19, 2017

    Greetings from Boston,

    GA, very moving photos of post-war London, particularly “Bomb site, St. Mathias School” and “Wens Cafe,” Bethal Green.

    Didn’t Anthony Armstrong Jones romance Princess Margaret in his flat in East London before they announced their engagement? Not sure.

  8. Roger permalink
    September 19, 2017

    400 ASA black and white film pushed to 800 or 1600.
    You didn’t make use of flash. Lovely grainy effects!

  9. Ian Silverton permalink
    September 19, 2017

    Pity is he never got around to showing some of the squalor his sister in law subjects had to suffer, me for one, poor old Bethnal Green,never like seeing these type of pictures,to many bad thoughts.

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