A. L. Coburn's photographic work remains sparsely studied, despite the great significance which was ascribed to him at the beginning of the 20th century. This contribution analyses his series of urban photographs representing several aspects of London. It applies a variety of approaches, enabling it to challenge the allegorical reading which has been offered by most of the existing research on Coburn. This allows several conclusions to be drawn with regard to both the artistic methods applied by Coburn and the image of the city which he wished to convey.