Boys of The Gorbals

Vintage silver gelatin print by Bert Hardy. Iconic photograph of two boys playing in The Gorbals slums of Glasgow, in 1948. Photographer's stamp on verso.

31st January 1948: The Gorbals tenements were built quickly and cheaply in the 1840s, providing housing for Glasgow's burgeoning population of industrial workers. Conditions were appalling; overcrowding was standard and sewage and water facilities inadequate. The tenements housed about 40,000 people with up to eight family members sharing a single room, 30 residents sharing a toilet and 40 sharing a tap. By the time this photograph was taken 850 tenements had been demolished since 1920. Redevelopment of the area began in the late 1950s and the tenements were replaced with a modern tower block complex in the sixties. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4499 - The Forgotten Gorbals - pub. 1948 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)