Thomson returned to Britain in 1872, settling in Brixton, London, which is where I am residing at the moment. Thomson never left again. Over the coming years he published his work, presenting the results of his travels in the Far East. His publications started initially in monthly magazines and were followed by a series of large illustrated photographic books. He wrote extensively on photography, contributing many articles to photographic journals such as the British Journal of Photography.

Thomson renewed his friendship with Adolphe Smith, a radical journalist whom he had met at the Royal Geographic Society in 1866. Together they produced the monthly magazine, Street Life in London, from 1876 to 1877. The project documented in photographs and capturers the lives of the street people of London. It is amazing as it highlights social documentary photography as an early type of photojournalism.