Courtney, whose real name was John Thom, was undoubtedly mad. He never could have found followers, except amongst the most degraded and ignorant; and it is hoped he did better service to his countrymen than he ever dreamt of by drawing attention to the dreadful evils arising from the want of education among the rural population. Most of his followers could neither read nor write, and were so totally unacquainted with the simplest truths of Christianity that they believed him when he asserted that he was Gideon, Samson, and Jesus Christ all in one, and that he had descended from heaven to redress the wrongs of the poor, but more especially to reduce the price of bread!
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| THE DREADFUL RIOT AND LOSS OF LIFE AT BOSSENDEN WOOD, EAST KENT. FROM THE ‘WEEKLY CHRONICLE,’ JUNE 10, 1838. | |
1. Courtney. 2. Lieutenant Bennett. 3. Sergeant Langley making a thrust at Courtneywith a 4. Six Magistrates. 5. Soldier who stepped forward and shotCourtney. | 6. Major Armstrong. 7. Detachment of the 45th Regiment loading. 8. Lieutenant Bennett’s detachment. 9. The man Wills, who knocked down SergeantLangley. 10. Courtney’s flag. 11. J. N. Knatchbull firing at Courtney. |
The Weekly Chronicle illustrated the coronation of Queen Victoria by a view of ‘The interior of the Abbey at the moment of Her Majesty assuming the Crown,’ and a full-page engraving of the Coronation Procession. Two pages of engravings were given on the occasion of the Queen’s marriage; and on November 1, 1841, a large ‘view of the Tower of London as it appeared on fire on the morning of Sunday, the 31st ult., from a drawing by a distinguished artist.’ On January 29, 1842, the same paper illustrated the christening of the Prince of Wales, with its attendant ceremonies and festivities; and later in the same year were published the last of its illustrations, relating to the employment of women and children in coal-mines.
| INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, LOOKING FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE SPOT LATELY OCCUPIED BY THE THRONE. FROM THE ‘SUNDAY TIMES,’ NOV. 2, 1834. |
The Observer, Bell’s Life, and the Weekly Chronicle, which during more than twenty years had been the chief representatives of pictorial journalism, gradually abandoned the practice of giving illustrations after the Illustrated London News was established. Two or three other newspapers occasionally published engravings, but they were very few, and appeared at long intervals. The Sunday Times illustrated the trial of Thurtell for the murder of Mr. Weare, and on Nov. 2, 1834, it published several engravings of the destruction of the Houses of Parliament, two of which, representing the ruins, are of sufficient interest to introduce here.
| RUINS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. FROM THE ‘SUNDAY TIMES,’ NOV. 2, 1834. |
The Champion of Nov. 13, 1836, has an engraving of the interior of a cotton-factory; and the Weekly Herald in the same year issued two engravings illustrating the story of Wat Tyler:—‘1. Workshop scene; Wat Tyler knocking the Tyrant Tax-gatherer’s brains out;’ the principal characters equipped in boots, buckles, and belts, in true theatrical style 2. ‘Smithfield scene; the assassin Walworth treacherously murdering the brave but too-confiding Wat Tyler.’ The same paper also issued this year a view of St. Peter’s, Rome. The Magnet, a paper started in 1837, illustrated the proclamation of Queen Victoria, William IV. lying in state, the Canadian rebellion, burning of the Royal Exchange, coronation of Queen Victoria, and on Jan. 4, 1841, the removal of the remains of Napoleon I. from St. Helena. There are two engravings of this interesting historical event. The first is entitled, ‘A correct view, taken on the spot, of the interior of the tent at St. Helena, after the disinterment of the body of Napoleon, at the instant of the removal of the lid from the coffin; the remains of the Emperor appearing (as one of the spectators remarked) as if he were asleep.’ I have copied the second cut, which represents the embarkation of the body, and is one of the last examples of pictorial journalism before the birth of the Illustrated London News.
Before concluding this part of my subject it is fitting that I should include the Penny Magazine amongst the pictorial journals which immediately preceded the establishment of a regular illustrated newspaper. The Penny Magazine, though not a newspaper, was intended to supplant the cheap and pernicious contraband newspapers that then existed in large numbers. It was the most successful experiment that England had then seen of the art of illustration in combination with the steam press, and was the best attempt that had been made in a cheap form to elevate the public taste.