While working in the newspaper business in the 1830s, Herbert Ingram noticed that newspaper circulation increased when a newspaper included an illustration. Ingram found the first newspaper that subordinated the text to pictures, the Illustrated London News, which featured high-quality engraving.
You can view some of these engravings in the display case in Parkway Central Library’s Newspapers and Microfilm Center. The department has microfilm copies of all the issues of the Illustrated London News between its beginnings in May 1842 through 1875. The images depict various 19th-century historical events, from wars to horse races.
You can learn more history related to the pictures featured in the display through books in our collection:
The Anglo-Afghan Wars, 1839-1919 (2009) by Gregory Fremont-Barnes
This book gives an account of Britain’s involvement in wars in Afghanistan which featured imperial and jihadi armies and military incompetence.
Eclipse: The Horse That Changed Racing History Forever (2012) by Nicholas Clee
This book tells the story of a consummate champion racehorse who raced at the famous Epsom Downs racetrack outside of London.
Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero (2007) by Lucy Riall
This book examines the life of Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary leader and popular hero, who was among the best-known global figures of the 19th century.
The Atlas of British Railway History (1985) by Michael J. Freeman
Railways transformed Britain by shrinking national space. This book uses maps to trace the rise and fall of the railways’ fortunes.
The Thames Embankment: Environment, Technology, and Society in Victorian London (1998) by Dale H. Porter
The Thames Embankment was the final element of the London Main Drainage, a great Victorian-era engineering project that reduced the toxic pollution of the Thames River. This book explains the tangled history of this monumental venture.
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