This amusing picture shows a family playing on the moon above a valley where sits their lunar base. The extra-terrestrial domestic scene was imagined in the 1960s, when a rather naive optimism began to shine through after the post-war gloom; it was of course a decade which saw man walk on the Moon. But however unlikely this vision of a lunar colony may have appeared, the artist did get one thing right; he painted the Earth as a “blue planet”.

Family playing on the moon, as imagined in the 1960s

Many more pictures of space can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This dramatic, beautiful and compelling picture captures an extraordinary mountaineering achievement in the centenary year of the Matterhorn’s first successful ascent. Walter Bonatti, pictured here, attempted the first solo winter ascent of the North face of the Matterhorn, which he tried twice in February, reaching the summit at the second attempt on 23 February in 1965.

Walter Bonatti stuggling upwards toward the peak of the Matterhorn

Many more pictures of climbers can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This intriguing picture creates compelling atmosphere and mystery in the simple tension between the figures of Burke and Wills and the mysteriously deserted stockade of Cooper Creek, towards which one of them gestures with growing apprehension. When they enter they find recent traces of cattle and horses, and burnt-out fires; but where have the depot party got to?

Burke and Wills by Andrew Howat

Many more pictures of exploration can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This dramatic image is full of the sound and swell of the Atlantic in its depiction of John Cabot sailing on to the new found land, which he discovered in 1497. The discovery of Canada is historically eclipsed by Columbus’s earlier achievement, so this stirring image of the Matthew from Bristol reminds us of the Italian navigator Cabot’s great maritime triumph in the Age of Discovery.

John Cabot, the man who found Canada by Ferdinando Tacconi

Many more pictures of Canada can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Leif Ericsson was the Viking who found America, and this picture is a stunning image of the Viking Chieftain sitting in his winged helmet at the stern of his longboat, beneath the carved head of a Nordic dragon. The North Atlantic Ocean is as much an element in the image as the magnificent Viking warriors and their billowing striped sails.

Leif Ericsson, the Viking Who Found America by Peter Jackson

Many more pictures of the Vikings can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This dramatic picture is like a scene from a Hollywood disaster movie, and shows the uncontrollable enormity of the many fires which raged for several days after the earthquake struck the city early on April 18, 1906. The desperation and fear in the faces of the two inhabitants pictured convey the human dimension of a disaster which claimed over 3000 lives.

San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

Many more pictures of disasters can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Hannibal’s famously incredible feat of crossing the Alps into Gaul is shown with a long-distance view in our cleverly credible picture. His elephants and army stretch back in a seemingly endless column, as the wild Alpine inhabitants look on in wonder and horror at the Punic invaders and their relentless progress against such spectacular odds.

Hannibal crossing the Alps

Many more pictures of Hannibal can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Our carefully researched picture is a bird’s-eye view of a riverside Anglo-Norman village as it might have appeared sometime after the Domesday Book was compiled by order of William the Conqueror. We see the dominant castle, the largely Anglo-Saxon church and the already familiar appearance of the English manor house. These, along with the thatched village houses and the distant windmill, are elements of domestic and agricultural architecture which form the pattern of rural English building for a millennium.

A mediaeval Anglo-Norman village by Dan Escott

Many more pictures of then Normans can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

We have selected three of the best pictures from ‘The Illustrated Times’, a nineteenth-century illustrated newspaper and rich source of remarkable engravings.
The first picture shows Esseillon Fort, commanding the Route to Mount Cenis, in the Savoy Pass.

Esseillon Fort, commanding the Route to Mount Cenis, in the Savoy Pass

The second picture shows Khisa Pussund, the King’s Palace at Lucknow.

Khisa Pussund, the King's Palace at Lucknow

The third picture shows recruiting for the Navy on Tower Hill.

Recruiting for the Navy, the Naval Rendezvous on Tower-Hill

High-resolution scans of all the illustrations from ‘The Illustrated Times’ (London 1855-1866) can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

We have selected three of the best pictures from ‘The Illustrated Times’, a nineteenth-century illustrated newspaper and rich source of remarkable engravings.
The first picture shows a panoramic view of the fortifications, town and harbour of Sebastopol.

Panoramic View of the Fortifications, Town, and Harbour of Sebastopol

The second picture shows an English Baronial Hall in the High Middle Ages.

A Baronial Hall by Cattermole

The third picture shows a reminiscence of the Council of Trent.

A Reminiscence of the Council of Trent, Deputies to the Council on their Way to the Assembly after Hearing Mass in the Cathedral

High-resolution scans of all the illustrations from ‘The Illustrated Times’ (London 1855-1866) can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.