If Downton Abbey withdrawal has left you craving the splendors of Edwardian life, then we wager you’ll be as excited as were by Retronaut’s roundup of early 20th century street photography by Edward Linley Sambourne, an amateur lensman who also happened to be the chief cartoonist at Punch. “The one difference between Sambourne’s street photography and the pictures taken by modern style bloggers is that for the most part his subjects had no idea they were being photographed,” explains Dave Walker, who originally posted about his work. “Sambourne used a concealed camera.” Unsuspecting or not, these young women were dressed to impress, with accessories guaranteed to win the heart of even the most defiantly casual dresser. There’s a group of ladies parading down the Champs-Élysées with parasols. Parasols! And don’t even get us started on the incredible hats. It’s all so civilized! Click through a lookbook that we’ve assembled featuring some of our favorite style snaps after the jump.
London, Cromwell Road, 1906
London, Cornwall Gardens, 1906
Paris, Place du Louvres, 1906
Paris, 1906
Paris, Champs-Élysées, 1906
Paris, Helene du Bois, 1906
Paris, Boulevard des Italiens, 1906
London, Church Street, 1906
London, Kensington, 1906
London, 1908