Philip Davies's first bestselling book Lost London, 1870–1945, published in 2009, mesmerised readers with the wealth of information conveyed in its early photographs of London. While the primary focus was on the built environment, the demeanour and dress of people in the photographs left an indelible impression on all who scanned its pages.

More than ten years later, London The Great Transformation, 1860-1920 opens a new window on Lost London’s themes, buildings and streets; this time with nearly twice as many historic photographs from 25 different archives that illuminate London’s transition from a rambling collection of villages and motley larger buildings – from stone built churches to timber framed mediaeval structures – into an imperial capital which was the largest and wealthiest city in the world. Here we see the crooked alleys off narrow streets that would be flattened and replaced by broad avenues and dramatic vistas that amazed London’s inhabitants then and still do today when seen in their construction and pristine locations thanks to the photographers’ works reproduced in high quality in this authoritative book.

Broadcaster and architectural historian, Dan Cruickshank comments in his foreword: “this book brings together images that, like the missing pieces of a vast jigsaw puzzle, can now be assembled to allow us to see a fuller picture of the metropolis in the throes of great change.”