Been researching theories of ‘urban degeneration’ and found these pics. Children at the Lant St School, Southwark, photographed in 1875. Described in 1904/5 as the ‘lowest type& #39; by a govt committee set up to explore alleged inherited physical and mental decline, ie #eugenics
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The girls at Holland St School, Blackfriars, South London, 1875, also described as the ‘lowest’ in the report of the InterDepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, 1904/5.

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3 yrs later & the Lant St kids showed ‘improvement’, that is to say, environmental, not eugenic, factors are in play. In fact, the 1904/5 Committee wd come out against the eugenicists, believing better housing, feeding and nurse inspections were needed, not selective breeding
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The final Lant St pic in the report. School dinners & medical interventions to detect childhood conditions were showing results in London schools. At last, the wretched child mortality rates began to fall. Sadly, the report& #39;s findings did not win the nature vs nurture debate.
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