The capital was a key importer of ivory during the colonisation of Africa but now thankfully it is now an incredibly controversial trade and illegal in most places.
At the peak of the ivory trade in the 1870s, Ivory House took in over 200 tonnes worth of imports or approximately 8,000 tusks.
The pictures show the weighing and measuring of sizeable tusks in the London warehouse which were later to be sold at auction.
Many of these were then sold on to carving centres across the continent where they were delicately carved into ornate decorations.
Now Britain is one of the world leaders in fighting the barbaric trade, imposing a complete ban on the sale of ivory, with the nation's ban being one of the toughest in the world.
Barbaric trade
Ornate carving
Expensive imports
Weighing up
Counting the cost
Onward bound
Out of Africa
Scale of destruction
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