A really extraordinary anthology by founder of Mass Observation and documentary film-maker Humphrey Jennings. Hundreds of short texts (Jennings called them ‘images’) of the industrial revolution from contemporary observers (from the great to the entirely unknown). Jennings died in his forties and the anthology was completed over several decades, first by his daughter Mary-Lou and then by long-time collaborator and friend Charles Madge (who died in 1996). It’s a labour of love and a real model for a historical anthology of any kind. I’d love to see a similar work for the digital age.
It’s out of print but there are second-hand editions on Amazon
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[...] I’m trying to dig up stuff you won’t find on the non-fiction table at Waterstones. Like this out-of-print anthology of writing about the industrial revolution collected by Mass Observation founder Humphrey [...]
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