74-560: Cecil Court is a pedestrian street with Victorian shop-frontages in Westminster, England, linking Charing Cross Road and St Martin's Lane . Since the 1930s, it has been known as the new Booksellers' Row. One of the older thoroughfares in Covent Garden , Cecil Court dates to the end of the 17th century and earlier maps clearly identify a hedgerow running down the street's course. A tradesman's route at its inception, it much later acquired
148-539: A collie in the title role, was a huge financial success. The film is now regarded as an important development in film grammar , with shots being effectively combined to emphasize the action. Hepworth was also one of the first to recognize the potential of film stars , both animal and human, with several recurring characters appearing in his films. By 1910, Hepworth was also the inventor of Vivaphone, an early sound on disk system for adding sound to motion pictures. The device used phonograph records to record and play back
222-544: A feminist movement developed. Parental authority was seen as important, but children were given legal protections against abuse and neglect for the first time towards the end of the period. Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State-funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by
296-585: A democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the Liberal Party . This continued until the First World War . The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland. Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of
370-455: A fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability. The Chartist movement for working-class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated. Government involvement in the economy was limited. Only in the post-World War II period , around a century later, did the country experience substantial economic growth again. But whilst industry
444-457: A general principle of one vote per household. All these acts and others simplified the electoral system and reduced corruption. Historian Bruce L Kinzer describes these reforms as putting the United Kingdom on the path towards becoming a democracy. The traditional aristocratic ruling class attempted to maintain as much influence as possible while gradually allowing the middle- and working-classes
518-507: A high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating undernutrition persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained
592-445: A major employer and industry in their own right. Expected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self-restraint becoming much more common. Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's major conflicts with France during the early 19th century, meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on
666-511: A period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for sexually transmitted infections , and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning. Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953)
740-670: A plaque celebrating "Flicker Alley" and the street's significant role in the British film industry . The street is still owned by the Cecil family and the buildings one can see today were laid out c. 1894 during the tenure of long-serving British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury . Today, Cecil Court is part of the Jubilee Walkway (opened in 1977 as the Silver Jubilee Walkway). The nearest Underground station
814-430: A rise in prosecutions for illegal sodomy in the middle of the 19th century. Male sexuality became a favourite subject of medical researchers' study. For the first time, all male homosexual acts were outlawed. Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the white slavery scandal , which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent from 13 to 16 . At
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#1732848339961888-541: A role in economic life but exploitation of their labour became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations, but particularly associated with this period are factories. Employing children had advantages, as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions, and could enter spaces too small for adults. Some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, but conditions were generally poor. Pay
962-505: A role in politics. However, all women and a large minority of men remained outside the system into the early 20th century. Cities were given greater political autonomy and the labour movement was legalised. From 1845 to 1852, the Potato Famine caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration. The Corn Laws were repealed in response to this. Across
1036-463: A severe problem. The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply. In the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , from her accession on 20 June 1837—after
1110-509: A substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the Great Famine in Ireland was unique. Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of
1184-468: A symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901. The Victorian era saw a rapidly growing middle class who became an important cultural influence, to a significant extent replacing the aristocracy as British society's dominant class. A distinctive middle-class lifestyle developed that influenced what society valued as a whole. Increased importance was placed on the value of
1258-687: A time when job options for women were limited and generally low-paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short-term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women, while another, more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution, and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about venereal disease , especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for
1332-461: A wide range of new inventions. This led Great Britain to become the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time. Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850–1870) as Britain's 'Golden Years', with national income per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere. The positive economic conditions, as well as
1406-593: Is Leicester Square . The street is sometimes used as a location by film companies. On film, Cecil Court bookshops feature in Victim (1961), The Human Factor (1979), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Miss Potter (2006) and Last Christmas (2019). Bookshops set in Cecil Court feature briefly in a number of novels, such as Ben Aaronovitch 's Broken Homes . Cecil Court is one of several locations which has been touted as an inspiration for Diagon Alley in
1480-456: Is now called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support. Photography became an increasingly accessible and popular part of everyday life. Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era. They became important to male identity. Examples included cricket , football , rugby , tennis and cycling . The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with
1554-438: Is sometimes nicknamed "Booksellers' Row"; an earlier "Booksellers' Row" existed at Holywell Street, London , demolished circa 1900. It has been suggested that the street was named after Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , the 1st Earl of Salisbury, an important courtier to Queen Elizabeth I and renowned as a trailblazing spymaster. However, it seems to be one of a number of nearby streets and places that have been named after
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#17328483399611628-510: The AHRB Centre for British Film and Television Studies, searchable online as part of the London Project. Arising from this, the street is sometimes called "Flicker Alley". The first film-related company arrived in Cecil Court in 1897, a year after the first demonstration of moving pictures in the United Kingdom and a decade before London's first purpose-built cinema opened its doors. The street
1702-519: The Church of England . Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851, and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed . The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland . Secularism and doubts about
1776-467: The Harry Potter franchise. When asked directly in 2020, author J. K. Rowling denied that there is any connection: "I'm laughing here... I had no idea how many streets were claiming to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley... [it was not] based on any real place". 51°30′38″N 0°07′39″W / 51.51056°N 0.12750°W / 51.51056; -0.12750 Victorian era In
1850-557: The Pax Britannica , was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's great powers . This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others. The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the Crimean War , from 1853 to 1856. There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire, and Britain participated in wars against minor powers. It also took part in
1924-699: The history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire , the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria , from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era , and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe. Various liberalising political reforms took place in
1998-587: The 'workshop of the world', Britain was uniquely advanced in technology in the mid-19th century. Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period. The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone invented the first telegraph system . This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards
2072-576: The 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. It had been hoped that there would be a rapid improvement following the Public Baths and Wash-houses Act 1846. This was the first legislation to empower local authorities in England and Wales to fund
2146-413: The 19th century and germ theory was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew. The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 and 40 to 56 for men. In spite of this, the mortality rate fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided
2220-536: The 19th century for the first time in history, improved nutrition, and a lower overall mortality rate. Ireland's population shrank significantly, mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine. The professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the French Revolution but was slow to reach Britain. William Whewell coined the term 'scientist' in 1833 to refer to those who studied what
2294-450: The Bible. A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels, women's magazines, children's literature, and newspapers. Much literature, including chapbooks , was distributed on the street. Music was also very popular, with genres such as folk music , broadsides , music halls , brass bands , theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What
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2368-485: The British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of transportation of convicts to Australia . Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories. Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world. The period from 1815 to 1914 , known as
2442-462: The Mozart lodgings at Number 19—has been confirmed as the site of John Couzin's barber shop. Cecil Court bookseller Tim Bryars consulted original source material, including the parish rate books of the time and a number of antique maps, to establish where in the street the young Mozart lived. The plaque was unveiled by actor and author Simon Callow , who created the role of Amadeus on stage . The ceremony
2516-549: The Origin of Species (1859), which sought to explain biological evolution by natural selection, gained a high profile in the public consciousness. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) popular science was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals. There were significant advances in various fields of research, including statistics , elasticity , refrigeration , natural history , electromagnetism , and logic . Known as
2590-449: The UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers . It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world. Victorian society valued
2664-631: The Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed. For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical. The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy . Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards
2738-447: The West." The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least
2812-497: The accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of
2886-411: The basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad. Improvements were made over time to housing along with
2960-706: The box office failure of Comin' Thro the Rye (1923), the company went into receivership the next year. All of the original film negatives in Hepworth's possession were melted down by the receiver in order to sell the silver, and his feature films have been considered lost for many decades. However, an original 35mm. print of his 1920 film Helen of Four Gates was located in a film archive in Montreal, Quebec , Canada in 2008. The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse in Walton-on-Thames
3034-462: The building of public baths and wash houses but, since the act was only permissive rather than mandatory, improvement was slow. Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of the situation: Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up
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3108-489: The children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling. By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including Sunday school ). From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve. Only in the 1870s and 1880s did children begin to be compelled into school. Work continued to inhibit children's schooling into
3182-454: The death of her uncle, William IV —until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII . Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era. The era can also be understood in a more extensive sense—the 'long Victorian era'—as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from
3256-774: The diplomatic struggles of the Great Game and the Scramble for Africa . In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . The couple had nine children, who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the 'grandmother of Europe'. In 1861, Albert died. Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years. In 1871, with republican sentiments growing in Britain, she began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became
3330-465: The early 20th century. 19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1901 census , more than three out of every four people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to one in five a century earlier. Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in
3404-424: The end of period. Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure. Before the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development with
3478-453: The end of the century. Private education for wealthier children, boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century. The growing middle class and strong evangelical movement placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self-criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance
3552-470: The end of the century. In 1876, an American patented the telephone . A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city. Guglielmo Marconi developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period. The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also
3626-516: The family, and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity. A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace, which had often not been the case before. The home was seen as a private environment, where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world. Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners. Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life, and
3700-427: The import and distribution of foreign films, or specialists in film rental or equipment alone. One business specialised in cinema confectionery, and for a time the trade periodical The Bioscope was published from number 8. The US-based Flicker Alley home video and film distribution company, founded in 2002, is named as a homage to Cecil Court's history. In December 2012, Simon Callow returned to Cecil Court to unveil
3774-438: The label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it. Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one". He distinguished early Victorianism—the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850 —and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism , from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw
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#17328483399613848-432: The land-owning family including Cranbourn Street and The Salisbury pub on St Martin's Lane . A substantial part of Cecil Court was razed to the ground in 1735, almost certainly arson on the part of a tenant, Mrs. Colloway, who was running a brandy shop/brothel in the street at the time: she purchased kindling, emptied her brandy barrels, over-insured her stock and made certain that she was drinking nearby with friends at
3922-517: The latter period as characterised by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery , and complacency —what G. M. Trevelyan called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'. The Reform Act , which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832. The franchise was expanded again by the Second Reform Act in 1867. The Third Reform Act in 1884 introduced
3996-420: The management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world. The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with oil lamps becoming the norm in the early 1860s, gas lighting in the 1890s and electric lights beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period. Medicine advanced rapidly during
4070-444: The middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'. Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals. Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s. Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection. Use of the death penalty also decreased. Crime rates fell significantly in
4144-544: The nickname "Flicker Alley" from the concentration of early film companies in the Court. It is now known as home to about a dozen antiquarian and second-hand independent bookshops , including specialists in modern first editions, collectible children's books, early printing, rare maps and atlases, antique prints, music, and esoterica, as well as art galleries, an antiques shop, shops specialising in antique silver, militaria , numismatics , porcelain, jewellery and art deco. The street
4218-451: The periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832 , which introduced a wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales . Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of
4292-504: The population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. However, 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain
4366-405: The second half of the 19th century. Sociologist Christie Davies linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population, especially at Sunday schools . Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed copulation . Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed. The development of police forces led to
4440-486: The sound. Hepworth's Vivaphone was distributed in Britain and also in the United States and Canada. The company continued making popular films into the 1920s, despite Hepworth's now unchanging and increasingly old-fashioned film style. Boosted by the international success of Alf's Button (1919), the company went public to fund a large studio development. He failed to raise the necessary capital and, also suffering
4514-402: The spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem. The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century. Various factors are considered contributary to this, including a rising fertility rate (though it was falling by the end of the period), the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during
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#17328483399614588-434: The time the fire took hold. However, she was acquitted. The street rose from the ashes to become the temporary home of an eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while he was touring Europe in 1764. For almost four months, the Mozart family lodged with barber John Couzin. Tickets for Mozart's first London concerts were sold from Couzin's shop and, while living there, the young Mozart performed twice for King George III and
4662-402: The war effort, and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement. There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society. For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples cohabited before marriage. Historian Harold Perkin argued that the change in moral standards led by
4736-699: The word mark in its trade logo), which was later renamed the Hepworth Manufacturing Company (officially: Hepworth Film Manufacturing Company), and then Hepworth Picture Plays . In 1899 they built a small film studio in Walton-on-Thames , Hepworth Studios . The company produced about three films a week, sometimes with Hepworth directing. He was associated with Percy Stow from 1901-1903 who specialized in trick films. His film Rescued by Rover (1905), co-directed with Lewin Fitzhamon and starring
4810-476: Was a British film director , producer and screenwriter . He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios . In 1923 his company Hepworth Picture Plays went into receivership . His works include Alice in Wonderland (1903), the first film adaptation of Lewis Carroll 's children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Hepworth
4884-458: Was accompanied with music from members of Opera Holland Park and the City of London Sinfonia including pieces from Mozart's London Sketchbook which it is quite possible might have been composed in Cecil Court. Cecil Court was an important focus of the early British cinema industry, with over forty entries to be found in the database of the study of the film business in London, 1894–1914, organised by
4958-533: Was born in Lambeth , in present-day South London . His father, Thomas Cradock Hepworth, was a famous magic lantern showman and author. Cecil Hepworth became involved in the early stages of British filmmaking, working for both Birt Acres and Charles Urban , and wrote the first British book on the subject in 1897. With his cousin Monty Wicks he set up the production company Hepworth and Co. (also known as "Hepwix" after
5032-478: Was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the Royal Society admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards. The British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone. Scientific knowledge and debates such as that about Charles Darwin 's On
5106-448: Was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish
5180-401: Was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and '70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physiques, and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions. Reformers wanted
5254-491: Was renowned as the place to buy or hire a film in Edwardian London, associated with many of the most important film-makers and distributors in early cinema. Home-grown pioneers including Cecil Hepworth and James Williamson had their offices there; but so did international companies including Gaumont , Nordisk , and American Vitagraph . Cecil Court's importance has been frequently cited by filmmakers and historians. It
5328-485: Was tested for his musical ability by Dr. Charles Burney . According to some modern authorities, Mozart composed his first symphony while a resident of Cecil Court. In September 2011, the Cecil Court Traders' Association installed a plaque commemorating Mozart's relatively brief, but significant, period of residence in the street. The plaque sits at Number 9 Cecil Court, which—contrary to earlier assumptions placing
5402-534: Was the location for the UK's first concentration of film-related businesses, which were almost exclusively new companies, bringing new skills to the industry and sharing products, resources, information and clientele (for example, dividing the costs of transporting the film reels themselves, and offering joint screenings to the showmen who hired them). The earlier businesses tended to be "one-stop shops"—filmmakers and dealers in films and equipment. From 1907, this new wave of businesses were often more specialised: dealers in
5476-432: Was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre. Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901 compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831 to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million. Children had always played
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