Sewer Collection

Woman sewing
Woman sitting down sewing. Date: 1917

Milky Monkey
23rd March 1959: Congo, a chimpanzee at London Zoo, likes his milk and whenever possible upturns a bottle and drains it dry. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Israel. Jerusalem. Via Dolorosa with the Arch of Ecce Homo
Israel. Jerusalem. Via Dolorosa. Street of Old City, which traditionally Jesus walked carrying the cross, way to his crucifixion. Arch of Ecce Homo. 2nd Station

Utility pipes, artwork
Utility pipes. Cut-away computer artwork showing the various utility pipes and cables under a city street. Included here are pipes for drinking water, waste water, sewage and gas

London / Embankment / 1867
A section of the Thames Embankment, showing the Subway, the Pneumatic Railway, the Metropolitan and District Railway and the Low-Level Sewer

Bazalgette, The Thames Embankment, 1867 (litho)
GHL293398 Bazalgette, The Thames Embankment, 1867 (litho) by English School, (19th century); London Metropolitan Archives

The rat that withdrew from the world. Illustration of the Fable by Jean de La Fontaine
JLJ4663151 The rat that withdrew from the world. Illustration of the Fable by Jean de La Fontaine. Painting by Philippe Rousseau (1816 - 1887), 1885. Oil on canvas. Dim: 0, 81 X 1, 00m

Sewer cleaners in the Main Sewer, Paris, 1931. Artist: Ernest Flammarion
Sewer cleaners in the Main Sewer, Paris, 1931. Illustration from the book Paris published by Ernest Flammarion, (1931)

Tapestry illustrating Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475 (tapestry)
CUL4899025 Tapestry illustrating Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475 (tapestry); (add.info.: Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475. History of the founder and fifth king of Rome according to the account of Livy)

Workmen in the main Paris sewer, 1850
3359141 Workmen in the main Paris sewer, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting workmen in the main Paris sewer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850
3359138 The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting the Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer near Temple Street. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

First tubular tramway project in Paris (underground electric railway between Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne)
PCT4293742 First tubular tramway project in Paris (underground electric railway between Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne) - map of the route - cut under the rue de Rivoli showing the tunnel

Rome: Cloaca Maxima, 1880
LUX4713805 Rome: Cloaca Maxima, 1880; (add.info.: Rome: Cloaca Maxima, 1880); Photo © Lux-in-Fine.

A party of visitors being shown the main collecting sewer under parts, 1850
3359133 A party of visitors being shown the main collecting sewer under parts, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting a party of visitors being shown the main collecting sewer under parts)

Metropolitan tubular railway from Vincennes to the Bois de Boulogne (Parisian metro) - Elabore project by M
PCT4291518 Metropolitan tubular railway from Vincennes to the Bois de Boulogne (Parisian metro) - Elabore project by M. Berlier for the 1900 exhibition in Paris - map of the route

The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850
3359139 The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting the Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850
3359130 The Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting the Deeping of the Fleet Street sewer near Temple Street. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Sewer in Little Knightrider Street (litho)
8629648 Sewer in Little Knightrider Street (litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Sewer in Little Knightrider Street)

Seamstress, Seaport, Sea-shells, Sedan, See-saw, Serpent, Serpent, Settee, Setter, Sewer, Shadow, Shanty (engraving)
8650079 Seamstress, Seaport, Sea-shells, Sedan, See-saw, Serpent, Serpent, Settee, Setter, Sewer, Shadow, Shanty (engraving) by German School

Tapestry illustrating Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475 (tapestry)
CUL4899054 Tapestry illustrating Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475 (tapestry); (add.info.: Tarquinius Priscus. ca. 1475. History of the founder and fifth king of Rome according to the account of Livy)

A Penstock Chamber used to regulate the flow in London sewers, 1850
3359134 A Penstock Chamber used to regulate the flow in London sewers, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving of a Penstock Chamber used to regulate the flow in London sewers)

Human invention anticipated: Tunnels (engraving)
8657890 Human invention anticipated: Tunnels (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Tunnels)

Cartoon depicting Father Thames annoyed that yet another report condemned the river as being little more than an open
5308619 Cartoon depicting Father Thames annoyed that yet another report condemned the river as being little more than an open sewer

The opening of a London sewer by night, 1850
3359137 The opening of a London sewer by night, 1850; (add.info.: Engraving depicting the opening of a London sewer by night. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

First tubular tramway project in Paris (underground electric railway between Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne)
PCT4293716 First tubular tramway project in Paris (underground electric railway between Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne) - map of the route - cut under the rue de Rivoli showing the tunnel

Dirty Father Thames': More an open sewer than a river, the disgusting state of the Thames in London in 1849
527534 Dirty Father Thames': More an open sewer than a river, the disgusting state of the Thames in London in 1849, the year of the Great Stink when Parliament was suspended because of the smell

Temple of Vesta - Rome, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Temple of Vesta - Rome, 1850. Here...on the Tiber's banks, stands one of the best preserved relics of Imperial Rome - the ruins of one of the many temples of Vesta which the city contained

Bursting of the Fleet Ditch and destruction of part of the Metropolitan Railway... 1862. Creator: Unknown
Bursting of the Fleet Ditch and destruction of part of the Metropolitan Railway: scene of the accident, [London], 1862. Owing to falls in the Fleet sewer the waters had accumulated to a great extent

Underground Paris - the sewers
3784840 Underground Paris - the sewers; (add.info.: Underground Paris - the sewers. With a cleaning team ('service d'assainissement') beneath a drain on Boulevard Sebastapol

View of the Temple of Hercules Victor named Temple of Vesta and of the Cloaca Maxim in Rome Rome Temple Republican Period, Roman Art, Europe, Ancient Civilization. Date of Photograph:1850 ca

View of the Cloaca Maxima, Rome Rome Sewer Republican Period, Roman Art, Europe, Ancient Civilization. Date of Photograph:1865 ca.. Date of Artwork:VI-II secc. a. C

View of the opening of the Cloaca Massima in the Tiber river, Rome. In the background, the bell tower of the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin is visible

The mouth of the Cloaca Maxima of the Tiber river in Rome. In the background the Temple of Vesta and the bell-tower of the Church of St

Workmen inspect the underground sewer tunnel that extends from under the Mersey tunnel mouth to Ranelagh Street in central Liverpool. 18th January 1963

Textile Mountains
Treechild

Men wearing heavy oilskin protective clothing would go into the tunnels under the streets of London to unblock the sewers with a combing method. Date: 1881

Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, 1819 - 1891. 19th-century English civil engineer
2603470 Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, 1819 - 1891. 19th-century English civil engineer, responsible for the sewer network for central London From The Review of Reviews

Exit de l'egout de Bercy a Paris (The output of the sewer tunnel in the seine river, Bercy)
ELD4893277 Exit de l'egout de Bercy a Paris (The output of the sewer tunnel in the seine river, Bercy, Paris) Drawing by Gustave Fraipont (1849-1923)

Jean Valjean, Marius wounded on his back, fleeing in the water of Paris Illustration of the novel "Les
ELD4838474 Jean Valjean, Marius wounded on his back, fleeing in the water of Paris Illustration of the novel "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Street Stories - Toronto
Jackson Carvalho

Illustration by Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) in Psst... !, 1898-3-19 - A New Bomb - Antisemitism, Dreyfus Case
ICA4894191 Illustration by Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) in Psst...!, 1898-3-19 - A New Bomb - Antisemitism, Dreyfus Case, Drains - Jewish - Drowning by Forain

La Cloaca Maxima et le temple de Vesta, Etat actuel (engraving)
7179819 La Cloaca Maxima et le temple de Vesta, Etat actuel (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: La Cloaca Maxima et le temple de Vesta, Etat actuel)

Le Vocabulaire Illustre: Egout; Sewer; Abzugskanal (engraving)
7195828 Le Vocabulaire Illustre: Egout; Sewer; Abzugskanal (engraving) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Egout; Sewer; Abzugskanal)

Le Vocabulaire Illustre: Bouche (d egout); Gully-hole; Mundloch (eines abflusses) (engraving)
7194988 Le Vocabulaire Illustre: Bouche (d egout); Gully-hole; Mundloch (eines abflusses) (engraving) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Julie Pissarro Sewing beside a Window, 1877 (painting)
7202657 Julie Pissarro Sewing beside a Window, 1877 (painting) by Pissarro, Camille (1830-1903); 54 x 45 cm; Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Untitled, 1893 (w / c on paper)
OVR368845 Untitled, 1893 (w/c on paper) by Kittelsen, Theodor Severin (1857-1914); 27x22 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: from the series Do the Animals have a Soul.); Photo © O. Vaering

L assiette au beurre, Satirical in Colours, 1902
ICA4884273 L assiette au beurre, Satirical in Colours, 1902 by Lefevre, Camille (1853-1933); (add.info.: Maternity, Milk - Illustration by Camille Lefevre (1853-1933)); Photo © Caricadoc

13132596
Mask and surgical gloves on top of urban sewer grid. Single-use masks, gloves and bottles of sanitizer shielding us from the spread of COVID-19 are ending up on the streets

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"Unveiling the Hidden World Beneath: Exploring Sewers from Jerusalem to London" From the ancient streets of Israel's Jerusalem, where the Via Dolorosa intertwines with the Arch of Ecce Homo, to the bustling cityscape of London's Thames Embankment designed by Bazalgette in 1867, sewers have silently played a vital role in our daily lives. Like a mischievous Milky Monkey swinging through utility pipes turned artwork, these underground networks have been witness to tales both extraordinary and mundane. Just as Ernest Flammarion captured Parisian sewer cleaners diligently at work in 1931, we too must acknowledge their tireless efforts that keep our cities clean. In Jean de La Fontaine's fable "The Rat that Withdrew from the World, " we find parallels between its protagonist seeking solace underground and those who venture into labyrinthine tunnels beneath London's streets. Clad in heavy oilskin protective clothing reminiscent of textile mountains, these brave men comb through blockages dating back to 1881. Amidst this subterranean world lies an unexpected juxtaposition - a woman sewing amidst it all. Her needle dances delicately as she mends fabrics aboveground while others delve deep below for different purposes altogether. As we reflect on historical milestones like Fleet Street Sewer's construction in 1845 or ongoing works across London today, let us appreciate how far we've come since Joseph Bazalgette revolutionized urban sanitation. These once-forgotten spaces now serve as conduits for progress and cleanliness. So next time you stroll along Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa or gaze upon London's iconic Embankment lithograph from 1867, spare a thought for those hidden heroes navigating this intricate underworld. The sewers may remain unseen but their impact resonates throughout history – reminding us that even beneath our feet lies an essential part of civilization’s tapestry.