Archive for November, 2010

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Heaviest recorded rainfall

Posted in Anniversary, Nature on Monday, 15 November 2010

picture, Teddy Bear, rain, boat

Teddy would have needed more than a sou’wester in Basse-Terre on this day in 1970. Illustration by W. Francis Phillipps

26 November marks the anniversary of the heaviest recorded rainfall in history. In 1970, Basse-Terre, the capital city of Guadeloupe and located on Basse-Terre Island in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, recorded 38.1 mm (one-and-a-half inches) of rain in a single minute. In the tropical climate of Basse-Terre the average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and the annual rainfall is 178 cm on average, varying between 6 mm in February and 23 mm in September.

More pictures featuring rain can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to the weather in all its forms can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Illustration Art Gallery Show in Central London

Posted in Art, Illustrators on Sunday, 14 November 2010

Trigan Empire

The Illustration Art Gallery is holding its first-ever Christmas show in Central London showcasing a selection of the finest work of British illustrators of the 20th century, including discoveries from the Look and Learn archive.

The exhibition is taking place from 14 to 19 December 2010 (10am to 7pm daily) at 8 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6BN.  For further information, visit www.illustrationartgallery.com or email art@illustrationartgallery.com or telephone +44 (0)20 8768 0022.

Among the artists featured will be: Angus McBride, Frank Bellamy, Frank Hampson, Graham Coton, Ron Embleton, James McConnell, John Millar Watt, Jim Holdaway, Reg Smythe, Philip Mendoza, Wilf Hardy, Don Lawrence, Oliver Frey, Cecil Doughty, Jack Hayes and Fortunio Matania.  Prices range from £75 to £5,000.

The exhibition will include for sale a number of pieces of outstanding Trigan Empire artwork, one of which, by Ron Embleton, is illustrated here.  These must rank among the finest examples of comic strip art ever produced.

Overall, this is not a show to be missed.

The De Havilland Mosquito

Posted in Anniversary, Transport, World War 2 on Sunday, 14 November 2010

picture, de Haviland Mosquito, bomber, raid, World War II, World War 2, Second World War

One of the most successful planes of World War II, the Mosqito. Illustration by Wilf Hardy

25 November marks the anniversary of the first flight of the Mosquito, developed by aircraft manufacturer de Havilland in the 1930s as a twin-engined medium bomber for the Air Ministry. The prototype was rolled out in 1940 and proved its value with a test in 1941 estimating its top speed as 392 mph and variants tested over the next few months achieved speeds of 439 mph. The basic frame of the aircraft was made of wood and constructed by furniture companies. The Mosquito’s first successful raid was performed in September 1942 and it performed numerous missions as bomber, reconnaissance and anti-submarine duties and as a night fighter.

Many more pictures featuring aircraft through the ages can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Death of Theobald Boehm

Posted in Anniversary, Music on Sunday, 14 November 2010

picture, music, musician, James Galway, flute

Musician James Galway playing a modern flute. Illustration by John Keay

25 November marks the anniversary of the death of Theobald Boehm (or Böhm), inventor of the modern flute, in 1881. The German born inventor and musician perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system (still known as the Boehm System). He trained in the family trade as a goldsmith but made his own flute and was so proficient he was playing with in orchestra at 18. Boehm experimented for many years with constructing flutes from different materials and perfected his new flutes and fingering system after studying acoustics at the University of Munich.

Many more pictures relating to music and musicians throughout the ages can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Jeremiah Horrocks and the transit of Venus

Posted in Anniversary, Space on Saturday, 13 November 2010

picture, Julian Horrocks, astronomy, telescope

Astronomer Julian Horrocks, who predicted the transit of Venus. Illustration by C. L. Doughty

24 November marks the anniversary of the first observation of the transit of Venus in 1639. A transit occurs when Venus passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring a tiny portion of the solar disk.The phenomenon occurs only occasionally, occurring in pairs eight years apart, but separated by periods of 121.5 and 105.5 years. A transit of Venus was predicted by Jeremiah Horrocks, whose interest in astronomy developed while he was at Cambridge. He was the first to demonstrate that the Moon moved in an elliptical path around the Earth.

Horrocks also predicted that Venus would transit the sun in 1639 and used a telescope to focus the image of the sun on a piece of card. His prediction was proven correct, and was confirmed by his friend William Crabtree, who also observed the phenomenon.

Many more pictures relating to astronomy through the ages can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

William Webb Ellis is born

Posted in Anniversary, Sport on Saturday, 13 November 2010

picture, William Webb Ellis, Rugby School, football

The foul that supposedly reinvented the game of football

24 November marks the anniversary of the birth of William Webb Ellis in 1806. Ellis, born in Salford, Lancashire, was the son of an army officer who was killed in 1811. His widowed mother moved the family to Rugby, Warwickshire, where Ellis attended Rugby School. A good scholar and cricketer, Ellis reputedly invented the game of Rugby football during a match in 1823. He caught the ball in his arms (a move allowed in football at the time) and ran forwards towards the opposition’s goal with it (which was not).

The incident was related many years later by a fellow pupil but evidence that it took place or had any substantial impact at the time is lacking.

More pictures featuring rugby football and Rugby School can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to sports through the ages can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The first pillar box opens

Posted in Anniversary, Architecture, Communications on Friday, 12 November 2010

picture, post box, pillar box

A Victorian era post box. Illustration by Peter Jackson

23 November marks the anniversary of the erection of the very first pillar box at St Helier, Jersey, in 1852. The penny post – where the sender bought an adhesive stamp to place on any letters he wanted carried – had been introduced in 1840 and outgoing mail could be left at a post office and often at a coaching inn or turnpike house where the Royal Mail coach could pick up and drop off mail.

The Channel Islands proved particularly problematical as the sailing times of the Royal Mail packet boats were subject to weather and tides. Anthony Trollope (the author, who was also a postal surveyor) was sent to Jersey and suggested “a letter-receiving pillar” be erected, estimating that the island would require five and Guernsey another four. The first four were erected in St Helier and proved to be an immediate success. The Royal Mail estimates that there are now over 100,000 post boxes in the UK.

More pictures featuring post and pillar boxes can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to mail delivery throughout history can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Birth of Billy the Kid

Posted in Anniversary, History, Legend on Friday, 12 November 2010

picture, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, gunfight

The shooting of Billy the Kid. Illustration by Harry Green

23 November marks the anniversary of the birth of  Henry McCarty, better known as the outlaw Billy the Kid, in 1859. Although his origins remain obscure, it is known that he was raised by his mother, Catherine McCarty, who died when her son was only 14.  He was first arrested (for stealing some cheese) aged 15 and was arrested again soon after for being found in possession of stolen clothing and firearms. Escaping from jail (by worming his way up the chimney), the young lad went on the run.

Using the name William H. Bonney, he eventually formed a gang and became known as Billy the Kid. He was killed by Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881. Little known in his lifetime, it was Garrett’s sensationalistic biography, The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, published a year later, that helped turn Billy into a Wild West legend.

More pictures featuring Billy the Kid can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to the history of the Wild West can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The Cutty Sark is launched

Posted in Anniversary, Transport on Thursday, 11 November 2010

picture, Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark, one of the most famous of all clippers to sail the seas

22 November marks the anniversary of the launching of the Cutty Sark in 1869. The clipper was a merchant vessel built at the Scott & Linton shipyard in Dumbarton, Scotland. Originally used in the tea trade, then for general cargo, the ship had a checkered history with regards to crew, including brutality, mutinies and murder. She regained her reputation under Captain Richard Woodget whose achievements included beating the fastest steamship of the day.

The ship is now a tourist attraction at Greenwich.

More pictures featuring the Cutty Sark can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to ships and shipping can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Vasco de Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope

Posted in Adventure, Anniversary, Geography, Travel on Thursday, 11 November 2010

picture, Vasco de Gama, Melindi, natives, Kenya

In early 1498, Gama reached Malindi and negotiated with the local natives to obtain a guide. Illustration by Severino Baraldi

22 November marks the anniversary of Vasco de Gama’s epic voyage around Africa. On this day in 1497, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the first European sailor to do so. The Portuguese explorer had set sail from Lisbon on  8 July 1497 and spent over three months at sea before making landfall on the African coast in November. After being forced to flee Mozambique, Gama eventually reached Malindi, a port on the coast of Kenya, where he was able to negotiate for a pilot to show him the route to India.

More pictures featuring Vasco de Gama can be found here. Many more pictures relating to explorers and exploration can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.