Leonard Bentley
The Strand
This is a Leon & Levy postcard printed in France and dates from 1904/1905. The view is looking east along the Strand and taken from outside Charing Cross Railway Station. In the centre of the photograph is a Bow Street Police Constable on traffic duty, a traffic point which was manned by officers from that Police Station well into the 1970s. I always thought that he was there to facilitate pedestrians crossing the street but his other duties may have been to move on taxi cabs picking up fares outside the forecourt of the station. The tobacconist on the right has advertising for "Peterson's Patent Pipes", the company has a fascinating history and there is a very good wikipaedia article here.
The Strand
This is a Leon & Levy postcard printed in France and dates from 1904/1905. The view is looking east along the Strand and taken from outside Charing Cross Railway Station. In the centre of the photograph is a Bow Street Police Constable on traffic duty, a traffic point which was manned by officers from that Police Station well into the 1970s. I always thought that he was there to facilitate pedestrians crossing the street but his other duties may have been to move on taxi cabs picking up fares outside the forecourt of the station. The tobacconist on the right has advertising for "Peterson's Patent Pipes", the company has a fascinating history and there is a very good wikipaedia article here.