The famous sociological survey of London

A fine and complete set of the three series that made up Booth's socio-economic survey of London, including his famous Poverty map which colour-coded streets according to the degree of wealth of the inhabitants, ranging from black ('Lowest class'), through shades of blue and purple ('Poor', 'Mixed', 'Fairly Comfortable'), to red ('Well to do') and yellow ('Wealthy').
Booth (1840-1916), owner of the Booth Shipping Line, acted in response to an 1886 Pall Mall Gazette article that claimed that 25% of Londoners lived in poverty. Booth regarded this figure as wildly exaggerated, so recruited a team of volunteer researchers (including his cousin Beatrice Potter) to compile an analysis of social conditions based on field visits and interviews with local police, clergy and employers. The First Series of 'Life and Labour' (1889), covering the East End, showed that 35% lived in poverty. The Second Series (1891), covering the rest of the city, showed that no less than 30 per cent of the city's total population could be classed as poor. The Third Series (1902) covered Religious Influences. The 'Final Volume' (also 1902) contained notes on social influences and Conclusions, with a map marking places of worship, public elementary schools and public houses.