Vagrant Collection

Charlie Chaplin as the little tramp
Film actor and director Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), film star and director, seen here in his little tramp costume, probably in a still from his 1925 film, The Gold Rush

Mount Pleasant Hotel, Kings Cross, London
The Mount Pleasant Hotel at the corner of Kings Cross Road and Calthorpe Street, Central London. The building was originally erected in 1894 as one of Londons six Rowton Houses - large

Houseless and Hungry by Luke Fildes
A study entitled Houseless and Hungry by Luke Fildes depicting homeless paupers queuing outside the casual ward of a London workhouse. A policeman stands at the left of the scene

Union Workhouse, Wokingham, Berkshire
The Wokingham Union workhouse, Berkshire. The workhouse, opened in 1850 on Barkham Road, Wokingham, later became Wokingham Hospital

Industrial School for Girls, Dundee, Scotland
The Industrial School for Girls, at Balgay Park, Dundee, Scotland, was established in 1861. Industrial Schools, often privately run

Industrial School for Girls, Maryhill, Glasgow
The Glasgow Industrial School for Girls at Maryhill was established in 1855. Industrial Schools, often privately run, housed children aged 7-15 placed there by magistrates for a variety of reasons

Rough sleeping, London, early 1900s Date: early 1900s

VAGRANT ORPHAN 4/4
An angel comes to take the little orphan girl to heaven, to be with her mother again. Date: 1910

The Tramps Dream

Hobos Hop Freight Train Date: 1950

Mothers and children at a Cecil House, London
Mothers and children at one of the womens lodging houses known as Cecil Houses. The hostels, for homeless and vagrant women

Homeless men sleeping on Southwark Bridge, London 1900
Homeless men sleeping rough in London. Date: 1900

GOOD RESOLUTIONS
Good resolutions - a child carries food to a man and his son tramping the roads. Date: circa 1860

Two America hoboes risking life and limb
Two Hoboes risk life and limb by riding on a carriage truck in America. Date: 1893

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOE
An American Hobo Riding on the Bumpers. Date: 1894

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOES
American Hoboes Riding the Rods. Date: 1882

HOMELESS IN ST JAMESS
Early morning - the Enumerator taking the census in St Jamess Park. The homeless are woken and interviewed. Date: 1861

Strolling beggars in China knocking their heads together and on a stone in order to extort alms. Date: 1737

Strolling beggars in China with burning coals
Strolling beggars in China laying burning coals on their heads and using other austerities in order to extort alms. Date: 1752

A Copper cops a Muddler in the mud - Salisbury Plain Date: 1916

Tetouan - Street Beggar
" One can admire the stubborn insistence of the Maghreb" - a pleading Tetouan street beggar holding out his bowl and asking for alms. Date: 1930s

Salvation Army Shelter, Great Peter Street, London
A large factory building on Great Peter Street, Westminster, Central London, leased by the Salvation Army for use as a night shelter. Men were allowed to sleep here on backed benches

Rowton House, Kings Cross, London
The Kings Cross Rowton House (built in 1894) at the corner of Kings Cross Road and Calthorpe Street, Central London. Rowton Houses, of which six were erected around London, were large, purpose built

Union Workhouse, Rugby, Warwickshire
The Rugby Union workhouse on Lower Hillmorton Road, Rugby, Warwickshire. The view, seen from the Guardians Board Room, shows the main workhouse building (right of centre)

Comic postcard -- boy and sleeping tramp
Comic postcard -- a boy urinating on a sleeping tramp through a fence. Date: circa 1900s

Stone-breaking cell in a workhouse
Illustration showing a workhouse stone-breaking cell. Tramps and vagrants broke stones in return for a nights accommodation Date: circa 1909

Laughing old man
A laughing old man with a wart on his nose, a fuzzy beard and blacked-out teeth. Perhaps not a real tramp, but an actor wearing makeup? Date: circa 1960s

Old man with prams and junk, Balham, SW London
An old man with a line of prams containing junk on a street in Balham, SW London. He is outside a rag and bone merchants premises where he hopes to get money in exchange for the junk

Tramp on a Balham street, SW London
A tramp sitting on a bench in a Balham street in SW London. Date: circa 1960s

Beggar in ragged clothes, China
A beggar in ragged clothes, China. Date: circa 1890

Poor Macedonian Beggar Woman and her dog
Poor Macedonian Beggar Woman sitting on the pavement with her dog beside her. Date: circa 1920s

Woman tramp sitting at side of road
A female tramp, her skin tanned by the outdoor life, sits by the road, her bag of possessions at her side. Although her body is well wrapped in overcoat and hat, her feet are in open sandals

Insane tramp on the road
A tramp, aged 24, on the road, said to be insane by the former Oxford Liberal MP Frank Gray, who in the 1920s had a particular concern for tramps and vagrants

Franky Shagg, Isle of Wight tramp
Franky Shagg, a well known tramp on the Isle of Wight in the early 1900s

Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary, womens ward
An old womens ward in the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary on Charles Street (later Bakers Row, now Vallance Road), East London

Salvation Army Shelter, Blackfriars Road, London
A crowd of vagrants awaiting admission to the Salvation Army shelter for men (known as The Embankment) at 115B Blackfriars Road, London

Music cover, The Tramp Galop on Bishops Melodies, by Adrien Victor. circa 1850s

London at night - Two outcasts sit on a bench - Embankment. Date: circa 1920s

Master Peter from Don Quixote, by William Heath Robinson
Master Peter from Don Quixote, illustration by William Heath Robinson (1902). The man is a puppeteer with an ape, met by Don Quixote on his travels. Credit must appear as: Courtesy of Mrs J. C

Old man with cup of tea, Balham, SW London
An old man relaxing with a cup of tea, Balham, SW London. circa 1960s

Two beachcombers, Hove and Brighton seafront
Two beachcombers rummage in a litter bin on the Hove and Brighton seafront. circa 1960s

Old man pulling prams, Balham, SW London
An old man pulling along a series of prams joined together, on a road in Balham, SW London. Each of the first two prams contains a large leather armchair, and the third one contains a wooden crate

Old man with dog and pram, Balham, SW London
An old man with a German Shepherd dog and junk in a long line of prams on a street in Balham, SW London. Date: circa 1960s

Old man with military colours and medal, Balham, SW London
An old man wearing military colours and a medal (dated 1895), Balham, SW London. circa 1960s

Tramp sitting on grass, Balham, SW London
A tramp sitting on a patch of grass in Balham, SW London. His beard has recently been trimmed during a visit to the clean-up centre. Date: circa 1960s

Tramp asleep on a Balham street, SW London
A tramp asleep on a bench on a Balham street in SW London. The various bags and papers appear to belong to him. Date: circa 1960s

Tramp in a doorway, Balham, SW London
A tramp sitting in a doorway of a house in Balham, SW London. Date: circa 1960s

Man and woman performing a comic song
Man and woman in shabby costume, performing a comic song. Date: C.1942

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping