This book features seven studies of humanity by Emil O. Hoppé, printed in photogravure and having an arresting, expressionistic quality. They showed underprivileged individuals like a tramp, a cabman, a peddler, a charwoman, and a "drug fiend." The forthright and sympathetic text by J. D. Beresford was a tribute to the fast-disappearing British character of sterling fortitude and quirky individuality.

Hoppé opened a studio in London after leaving Germany and became a commercial photographer of taste and discernment. He frequently photographed women workers, whose images he used for both editorial and advertising purposes. Hoppé was an early social documentarian, who, nonetheless, produced soft-focus imagery.