Revival of Wood-engraving by Thomas Bewick—The Observer started, 1791—The Times an Illustrated Paper—Illustrations of News in the Observer—St. Helena and Napoleon Bonaparte—Abraham Thornton and the ‘Assize of Battle’—Mr. William Clement and Illustrated Journalism—The Cato Street Conspiracy—Trial of Queen Caroline—The House of Commons in 1821—Coronation of George IV.—Royal Visits to Ireland and Scotland—Murder of Mr. Weare—Illustrations of the Murder in the Morning Chronicle, the Observer, and the Englishman—Bell’s Life in London—Prize-Fight at Warwick—Liston as ‘Paul Pry’—‘Gallery of Comicalities,’ &c.—Pierce Egan’s Life in London—Death of the Duke of York—Death of Mr. Canning—Opening of Hammersmith Bridge, 1827—Mr. Gurney’s Steam Coach—The Thames Tunnel—The Murder in the Red Barn—The Siamese Twins—Death of George IV.—Opening of New London Bridge, 1831—Coronation of William IV. and Queen Adelaide—Fieschi’s Infernal Machine—Funeral of William IV.—Queen Victoria’s First Visit to the City—Coronation and Marriage of the Queen—Christening of the Prince of Wales—The Weekly Chronicle—The Greenacre Murder—Mr. Cocking and his Parachute—The Courtney Riots at Canterbury—Burning of the Tower of London, 1841—The Sunday Times—Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1834—The Champion—The Weekly Herald—The Magnet—Removing the Body of Napoleon I.—The Penny Magazine—Charles Knight—Humorous Journalism of the Victorian Era.
There appears to have been little or nothing done in the way of illustrated journalism during the remaining years of the eighteenth century. It was during this period that Thomas Bewick revived the almost extinct art of wood-engraving, and about the time he brought out the first of his illustrated natural history books a weekly newspaper was started in London which afterwards became the pioneer of modern illustrated journalism. This was the Observer, the first number of which came out on Sunday, Dec. 4th, 1791. It is the oldest of our existing weekly newspapers, and is one of the rare instances of a Sunday paper becoming established.[1] Many years had to elapse before wood-engraving began to be used as a means of popular illustration; but when some of Bewick’s numerous pupils began to diffuse the fruits of their master’s teaching the Observer was the first newspaper that availed itself of the restored art. Before this, however, there were symptoms of the reawakening of a dormant idea. In looking back to the early years of the present century it is curious and interesting to notice that the Times was occasionally an illustrated paper. The battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson stirred the national heart to such a degree that the Times of that day was induced to introduce into its pages engravings of Nelson’s coffin and funeral car, when the hero’s remains were carried to St. Paul’s. In the number for Jan. 10th, 1806, there is an account of the State funeral, which is illustrated with the above-named woodcuts. They are very rudely executed, and plainly show that the influence of Bewick’s labours had not yet penetrated into the region of journalism. Annexed is a copy of what the Times of 1806 presented to the public in response to the intense interest felt by the whole of the British nation about Nelson’s death and funeral. It is a noteworthy example of renewed effort in the direction of illustrated news at a time when insufficient means of production clogged the spirit of enterprise. Like the Swedish Intelligencer of 1632, the Times did not hesitate to point out its shortcomings in the following notice at the foot of the engraving:—‘The only difference in the appearance of the Funeral Car from the engraving is, that, contrary to what was at first intended, neither the pall nor coronet appeared on the coffin. The first was thrown in the stern of the Car, in order to give the public a complete view of the coffin; and the coronet was carried in a mourning-coach. We had not time to make the alteration.’
| NELSON’S FUNERAL CAR. FROM THE ‘TIMES,’ JAN. 10, 1806. |
To the above engraving the following description was appended:—‘The Car, modelled at the ends in imitation of the hull of the Victory. Its head towards the horses, was ornamented with a figure of Fame. The stern carved and painted in the naval style, with the word “Victory” in yellow raised letters on the lanthorn over the poop. The coffin placed on the quarterdeck with its head towards the stern, with the English Jack pendent over the poop lowered half-staff. There was an awning over the whole, consisting of an elegant canopy supported by four pillars, in the form of palm-trees, as we have already mentioned, and partly covered with black velvet. The corners and sides were decorated with black ostrich feathers, and festooned with black velvet, richly fringed, immediately above which, in the front, was inscribed in gold the word “Nile” at one end; on one side the following motto, “Hoste devicto, requievit;” behind was the word “Trafalgar;” and on the other side the motto “Palmam qui meruit ferat,” as in the engraving. The carriage was drawn by six led horses, in elegant furniture.’
In 1817 the Times also illustrated the projects of Robert Owen, who laboured long and ardently to promote the doctrines of Socialism. In the number for Aug. 9th, 1817, there is a large woodcut called Robert Owen’s agricultural and manufacturing villages of Unity and Mutual Cooperation. In those days a page of the Times was not so valuable as it is now, or probably the enthusiastic Socialist would not have found it so easy to enlist that journal in helping to propagate his doctrines. In 1834 Owen made in London another attempt to put in practice the principles he had so long advocated. He died in 1858, aged ninety.
I have mentioned that the Observer was the first newspaper that availed itself of the revived art of wood-engraving; but it had previously essayed the then difficult task of illustrating the news of the day by the more costly means of engraving on copper. The island of St. Helena having been selected as the place of residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Observer of Oct. 29th, 1815, published a large copperplate view of the island, with a descriptive account. The plate is printed on the same page with the letterpress, so that there must have been two printings to produce this specimen of illustrated news. Three years later the Observer produced another copperplate example of news illustration, also printed on the letterpress page. This was a portrait of Abraham Thornton, whose remarkable case attracted much public attention. He was tried for the murder of a young woman, Mary Ashford, with whom he was known to be acquainted, and in whose company he was seen shortly before her death. He was, however, acquitted, the jury probably believing it to be a case of suicide. The brother of the girl then appealed, and Thornton claimed his right to defend himself by wager of battle. This claim was allowed, after long arguments before the judges. It was found, much to the surprise of the general public, that by the law of England a man in an appeal of murder might demand the combat, thereby to make proof of his guilt or innocence. In the present case the girl’s brother refused the challenge, and Thornton escaped. This was the last appeal to the ‘Assize of Battle’ in this country; and the attention of the Legislature being drawn to the obsolete statute, it was repealed by 59 Geo. III., 1819. It was during the progress of the arguments in this case, and while the public interest was very great, that the Observer published the portrait of the accused.
After this the Observer became remarkable for its illustrations of news. Mr. William Clement, the proprietor, was a man who early saw the attractiveness of illustrated journalism. I am not aware when he first became associated with the Observer; but under his management frequent illustrations of news were given in that paper. In 1820 Bell’s Life in London was started, and very soon Mr. Clement became the proprietor of that paper also. In 1821 he purchased the Morning Chronicle, which, however, turned out a bad speculation. Having invested a very large sum of money in the latter paper, Mr. Clement spared no effort to make it profitable, and the Observer was neglected. It suffered in consequence, and fell in circulation. Frequently the illustrations of news that were printed in the Observer were published the day previously in the Chronicle. They were also occasionally printed in Bell’s Life and the Englishman, a fourth paper belonging to Mr. Clement. All four papers were carried on together; but it is the Observer that stands out as the prominent representative of illustrated journalism at this period. Other journals came into existence which took up the idea of illustrating the news of the day; among them the Sunday Times, started by Daniel Whittle Harvey in 1822, when he was member for Colchester. Another paper which for a time rivalled, if it did not excel, the Observer in the frequency of its news illustrations was the Weekly Chronicle. It flourished a few years before the birth of the Illustrated London News, but has long been extinct. Mr. Clement sold the Morning Chronicle in 1834, and soon restored the Observer to its old position. The Morning Chronicle started in 1769 and expired in 1864. The Englishman has long been defunct, but I am not acquainted with the date of its disappearance. There was a paper called the Englishman in 1714, and the name was again revived by the late Dr. Kenealy.
The Observer and Bell’s Life were both published at the same office for many years, but their companionship was terminated in 1877, when they left the office in the Strand where they had so long lived amicably together, the great sporting journal migrating to Catherine Street, and the Observer seeking a new home in the Strand further west.
One or two other newspapers occasionally published engravings during the few years immediately preceding the Illustrated London News, and of them I will speak in the proper place. The most prominent, however, were the Observer, Bell’s Life in London, and the Weekly Chronicle, and to these three I propose first to direct attention as being the main supporters of the pictorial spirit until it culminated in the Illustrated London News. It was during the ten years preceding 1842 that the founder of that journal noticed the growing inclination of the people for illustrated news, and it was chiefly in the pages of the Observer and the Weekly Chronicle that he thought he saw the growth of a hitherto uncultivated germ.
In 1820 all England was startled by the discovery of a mysterious plot of some political desperadoes who planned the assassination of the Ministers of the Crown and the overthrow of the Government. This came to be known as the Cato Street Conspiracy, the place of meeting of the conspirators being in Cato Street, Marylebone. The extravagance of the Prince Regent, the high price of bread, and the heavy taxation, had brought about a feeling of discontent among the lower orders which, unhappily, was greatly increased by the Spa Fields riots, and the collision between the soldiers and the people in Lancashire, at what was called the massacre of Peterloo. Thistlewood, the leader of the conspirators, had already been tried for treasonable practices, but acquitted. He had also been in trouble for his connexion with the Spa Fields riots. The sanguinary plan of the conspirators was to murder the Cabinet Ministers while they were all assembled at dinner at Lord Harrowby’s house in Grosvenor Square. They were to seize certain pieces of cannon, take the Bank of England, destroy the telegraph to Woolwich, set fire to different parts of London, and then establish a provisional government at the Mansion House, sending emissaries to the outports to prevent the escape of obnoxious persons. They reckoned on large numbers of the discontented joining them as soon as they had destroyed the tyrants and oppressors of the people, as they termed the Ministers. They had provided pikes, pistols, sabres, knives, blunderbusses, and hand-grenades; and one of the gang, a butcher, had furnished himself with a heavy butcher’s knife, to cut off the heads of ‘Castlereagh and the rest as he came at them.’ Adams, one of their number, turned informer, and the conspirators were surprised by the police at their meeting-place in Cato Street. After a conflict in which one of the police-officers was killed, several of the gang were secured, and others were taken soon afterwards. Thistlewood, the leader, escaped in the first rush, but was captured next day.