1-154-956 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

'Lambeth Gas Works', 1872. Showing gas retorts, coal pods and workers. From the 19th century, manufactured gas was made by the distillation of coal. Taken from London: A Pilgrimage by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Doré. A Pilgrimage was a comprehensive portrait of London, but although the book was a commercial success many of the critics disliked it. Several were upset that Jerrold and Doré had concentrated on the poverty that existed in London.