Original late 19th-century photographic album page, double-sided, containing two mounted photographs connected to Hull, East Yorkshire.

One photograph depicts a Victorian street scene in Hull, identifiable by the visible shop signage “Naylor & Son” in the background. The image records a form of late 19th-century street entertainment in which a performer appears dressed as a mock bear, wearing a fur costume rather than using a live animal. Following the outlawing of bear-baiting in Britain in 1835, such costumed performances became a theatrical and comic substitute, intended to amuse working-class street audiences. The surrounding crowd of men and boys provides valuable documentary evidence of everyday urban life and informal leisure culture in an industrial port city.

The second photograph shows a posed outdoor family portrait, likely middle-class, seated on a fallen tree. Clothing, styling, and photographic format are consistent with the late Victorian period. Handwritten annotations on the album page reference “Naylson / Naylor & Son Provisions” and “Myton Gate, Hull”, reinforcing the local Hull association.

Both images are original album-mounted prints, likely albumen, dating to circa 1870s–1890s.

Photo sizes:

• Approx. 11.5 × 15.5 cm

• Approx. 15 × 11 cm

Condition:

Genuine age-related wear including foxing, toning, spotting, and handling marks to photographs and album page. No restoration. Condition consistent with authentic 19th-century material. Please review images carefully.