David Granick, East End in Colour 1960-1980

Mile End Road, 1977 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Stuff Crush • Publications

David Granick, East End in Colour 1960-1980

Four decades in the vaults, unknown photographer's extensive document of an East End in transition sees the light of day...

Lisa Davidson •

Shot with Kodachrome film, David Granick (1912—1980) photographed the narrative-laden streets of London’s East End from his home district of Stepney to Whitechapel, Spitalfields and beyond; capturing a unique moment in the area’s rich history by way of tens of thousands of starkly honest images.

David Granick, East End in Colour 1960-1980 Published by Hoxton Mini Press

Capturing the raw quintessence of a London that no longer exists, the scars of the war still fresh, Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives acquired Granick’s staggering collection 35mm transparencies—each meticulously dated with exact locations—upon his death in early 1980s; preserving them until they were rediscovered almost 40 years later by East End photographer Chris Dorley-Brown. 

Little is known of David Granick, a Stepney resident his entire life, the images he captured of neighbourhoods on his doorstep are his legacy. Many previously unpublished, the candid portrayals of East End life form the latest publication from Hoxton Mini Press, The East End in Colour 1960-1980 presenting an iconic area of London on the cusp of social change, from the brutal dominance of the Krays to the first artists moving into East London’s abandoned buildings; all compiled in a handsome 144-page hardback publication, available in three different coloured pastel spines.

A journey through the 1960s and ’70s, the launch of The East End in Colour 1960-1980, coincides with an exhibition of the same name at Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives (running 3 February — 5 May), featuring Granick’s momentous images along with a selection of free talks, screenings, and guided walks.

@hoxtonminipress

Gardiner's Corner, 1963, Colour Photographs of London East End

Gardiner’s Corner, 1963 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Spitalfields Market, 1973, Colour Photographs of London East End

Spitalfields Market, 1973 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Belhaven Street, 1977, David Granick, East End in Colour 1960-1980 Published by Hoxton Mini Press

Belhaven Street, 1977 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Colour Photographs of London East End

Watney Market, 1974 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Colour Photographs of London East End

Stifford Estate, Stepney Green, 1961 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

David Granick, East End in Colour 1960-1980 Published by Hoxton Mini Press

Brushfield Street, 1970 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Colour Photographs of London East End

Brady Street Buildings, 1979 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

Whitechapel Road, 1965, Colour Photographs of London East End

Whitechapel Road, 1965 by David Granick. Courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives