XX century in the lens of the famous writer Jack London

Most people, when mentioning the name of Jack London, remember that he was a popular American writer, the author of about 50 books, including the most beloved since childhood "The Call of the Ancestors" and "White Fang". Others may remember that he was a traveler and a public figure.

However, hardly anyone knows that Jack London was also an extremely productive photographer. He took about 12 thousand photos in his life: poignant shots of the life of homeless people in the East End (East London), images of the Russian-Japanese war, where he was assigned by Hearst Syndicate, portraits of aborigines from the islands of the South Pacific Ocean and pictures of the destruction after the terrible earthquake in San Francisco.

In his works, Jack London showed the power of perception and revealed his sense of compassion, respect and love for a person. Until 2010, most of the writer's photographs remained unpublished until a photobook with 200 frames was published. Its authors were Jeanne Campbell Reesman (Jeanne Campbell Reesman), Sarah Es. Sarah S. Hodson and Philip Adam.

Jack London lived in an era when photography was first used as a new way to cover the news. With a keen eye, London recorded historical moments in the faces and bodies of people who lived at that time.

Residents of the infamous Whitechapel neighborhood, where the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper took place.

Men sleeping on the Thames embankment, London, 1902.

Homeless women sleeping in the garden of Spitalfields, London, 1902.

In London on Sunday morning, the men who received tickets lined up for a free breakfast from the Salvation Army charity organization, 1902.

A policeman checks a sleeping man at the editorial office of the newspaper Truth, London, 1902.

Jack London is detained by the Japanese military in Korea, 1904.

Damage assessment in Santa Rosa after the earthquake, California, 1906.

Kearney Street, San Francisco, destroyed by an earthquake, 1906.

After the earthquake, San Francisco, 1906.

San Francisco, 1906.

Aborigines of Nuku Hiva, the largest island in the Marquesas Archipelago, 1907.

A small family of Korean refugees hiding from the Japanese army, Korea, 1904.

Passengers of the ship S.S. Siberia are sailing to Japan. 1904.

American traveler and director Martin Johnson poses with a resident of the Solomon Islands. Johnson was part of the crew of the Snark (Jack London's ship, on which he traveled to the South Pacific). Guadalcanal, 1908.