What East London looked like in the 1960s
- Text by Niall Flynn
- Photography by David Granick, courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library, Archives
Last year, when photographer Chris Dorley-Brown was invited to examine the Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, he stumbled upon thousands of old colour slides belonging to local, East End photographer David Granick.
Taken between the late 1950s and 1980, the photos – untouched, unseen and unpublished – warmly captured the post-war streets of Stepney, Whitechapel and Spitalfields, at a time when monochromatic depictions were the norm. Galvanised by the discovery, Dorley-Brown registered as a volunteer at the facility and quickly set to work scanning and organising the collection.
“The collection has about 3,000 slides going back to the fifties,” explains Dorley-Brown, “but they have been well preserved. Many had been unseen for fifty years or more.”
The result is The East End in Colour 1960 – 1980, a bittersweet love letter to a bygone London, made up of Granick’s distinctive images. Spanning a period that opens with the post-war boom and concludes with the first signs of Thatcherism, the book, published by Hoxton Mini Press, encapsulates a critical period in the city’s history: a London on the cusp of change.
“The East End is well documented photographically, [but] nearly always in monochrome,” Dorley-Brown continues. “Those images have defined our perspective of the period: stark, foggy and loaded with political agitation and unrest.”
“Granick takes a step back. Shooting in colour, we are presented with a very different matrix of information. Colour does that, it’s a different language. It’s really astonishing how few colour images survive from that era. They have a modern sensibility to them – they are minimal, topographic.”
In his work, Granick – who died in 1980, aged 67 – entangles the old world with the new. From the swaggering vibrancy of the Mile End high street to the distinct loneliness of the docklands, there’s a strength and spirit to the work that illustrates East London as it once was. Through the photos, the East End of then is – for a moment, at least – brought back to life.
“They are the pictures of an insider, with an emotional but reserved response. What he has left is unique: a tribute to a lost paradise.”
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Vintage photos of London street life at the turn of the millennium
London 1995-2005 — In her new photobook, Joan Piekny reflects on a decade shooting the styles and subcultures of the UK capital’s streets, just before technology .
Written by: Miss Rosen
Princess Julia: “I always state my age as I can’t believe I’m still around”
First lady — As the latest Artist-In-Residence of Huck 83, the London nightlife legend speaks to Josh Jones and provides a few recommendations and words of wisdom.
Written by: Josh Jones
A luminous portrait of Black life over six decades
Shared Memories — As staff photographer for The New York Times, Chester Higgins captured Black culture and spiritual connection like no other. A new exhibition celebrates his life and impact.
Written by: Miss Rosen
An intimate window into New York’s ’70s lesbian scene
We Others — An exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery combines Donna Gottschalk’s unearthed photographs of LGBTQ+ activists and friends, along with Hélène Gianneccini’s written histories.
Written by: Miss Rosen
A tender portrait of life and ritual from Mexico City’s streets
Órale — For the last six years of his life, photographer, collector and designer Michel Hurst documented death rituals, street life and religious pageantry in contemporary Mexico. A new monograph showcases his work.
Written by: Roxana Diba
In photos: Washington DC’s Black communities facing up to gentrification
A Language We Share — A new exhibition featuring the work of Beverly Price and Gordon Parks preserves historically Black neighbourhoods in the USA, before development and economic forces made them disappear.
Written by: Miss Rosen
