2-699-090 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Heads on Old London Bridge', (c1872). The heads of executed criminals and traitors were displayed on pikes above the southern gatehouse on London Bridge over the River Thames, a gruesome sight for those arriving in the capital. The heads were first dipped in tar and boiled to preserve them against the elements. From Old and New London, Vol. II: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places, by Walter Thornbury. [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London, Paris & New York]