This article reconstructs the visual culture of politics in Edwardian London through a study of the 1907 London County Council election. It moves beyond the memorable account given in Graham Wallas's Human Nature in Politics to examine the actors, especially associations and newspapers, that participated in the election. Drawing upon newspapers, election addresses, cartoon, leaflets, and posters, the article argues that Edwardian London was a prime site in the application of new media for political communication. It shows, however, that new modes of communication could co-exist with, and intensify, established forms of public politics. It reveals a highly knowing visual culture of politics through which issues of authenticity and identity were contested, and recasts understanding of a controversial and critical election.

中文翻译：

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“电章鱼的灯已经关掉了”：爱德华时代伦敦的视觉和政治文化

本文通过对 1907 年伦敦郡议会选举的研究，重构了爱德华时代伦敦政治的视觉文化。它超越了格雷厄姆·沃拉斯 (Graham Wallas) 的《政治中的人性》(Human Nature in Politics) 中令人难忘的描述，而是考察了参与选举的演员，尤其是协会和报纸。文章利用报纸、选举地址、卡通、传单和海报，认为爱德华时代的伦敦是应用新媒体进行政治传播的主要场所。然而，它表明，新的传播模式可以与既定的公共政治形式共存并加强。它揭示了一种高度了解政治的视觉文化，通过这种文化，真实性和身份问题受到质疑，并重新塑造了对有争议和批判性选举的理解。