(Direct link to video) This vintage film records ordinary street traffic in central London in 1903. Pedestrians dodge horse carriages in Hyde Park Corner, Parliament Square and Charing Cross Station. A motorcycle zips past a lamppost at 3:38 and a horseless carriage appears at 3:50-3:60.
"We see crowds of people disembarking from a pleasure steamer at Victoria Embankment, pedestrians dodging horse-drawn carriages in Pall Mall and heavy traffic trotting down the Strand. There are plenty of famous landmarks to spot here, including Big Ben, the National Gallery and the Bank of England, and it is fascinating to see the similarities between the customs of then and now - the dense traffic (mainly horse-drawn, with the occasional motor car) is highly reminiscent of today's London rush hour, while advertising on public transport is clearly no new phenomenon - in one scene, an advert for Nestlé's Milk seems to be plastered on every other vehicle."
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