14 DAY TRIAL // Photographer C.A. Mathew visited Spitalfields in April 1912 and wandered through the city's streets holding a camera in his hands. He captured impressive photographs of Liverpool Street station and of London's East End featuring children playing, shoppers, pubs, delivery carts and other things that drew his attention at that moment.
The shots taken that day were never published, so nobody knows for certain if they were part of a commission or were taken just for pleasure.
C.A.Mathew's life is shrouded in mystery, as little is known about him, except for the fact that he started photography in 1911 and died in late 1916. It is believed that Mathew and his wife were victims of the terrible epidemic of Spanish flu.
His photographs expose an almost perfect combination of light and shade, demonstrating a subtlety of tone. They are characterized by spontaneity and have an informal style, but they contain a whole world for people who live there and can now compare the streets and buildings with what they used to be a century ago.
Photographer Jeremy Freedman has been restoring his works for three years in order to show them to the world. He took the fragile prints and tried to recreate them in large-scale copies.
According to Spitalfields Life, the set of photos taken on April 20, 1912, are preserved at the Bishopsgate Institute and represent the most valuable depiction of what Spitalfields looked like at that time. The images were found a few years ago in the archives of the Institute, where they had been for at least 60 years.
The old pieces of London history will be exhibited for the first time at Bishopsgate Institute from March 6 to April 25.
