Friends abroad and who have never visited London are often under the illusion that the city is shrouded in impenetrable fog for much of the winter. I can remember when thick, thick fog was a regular winter occurrence, but all that changed with the measures taken to ban coal fires and other atmospheric pollutants. Today, fog is a rare visitor and is never as dense, nor as laden with unpleasant black blobs, as it used to be.
This collection of atmospheric black and white photographs of pre-war London by night gives you an insight into the city as it was. You can browse the photograhs here at the Telegraph.