Cuming collected thousands of objects from the ordinary lives of south Londoners in the 1800s, from theatre adverts and rail tickets, to cheap toys and good luck charms.
His collection included thousands of ancient objects dug up by labourers building the canals, docks and railways that profoundly changed London in the 18th and 19th centuries.
[3] This fraud, perpetuated by two Londoners, William (Billy) Smith and Charles (Charley) Eaton, involved the production of lead medallions, which the fraudsters then claimed to have found at Shadwell dock.
Outraged, George Eastwood sued The Athenaeum for libel, but the judge found for the defendant;[5] Cuming wrote "We gained a glorious victory".
[9] Cuming wrote extensively, providing a fascinating picture of a man obsessed with detail, with an eye for then-ordinary things which have become extraordinary to us today and with a great breadth of interest.