Subject: ‘Anniversary’

All of these articles and images are available for licensing: click on an image to see further details and licensing options; contact us about licensing textual content.

Storming the Eureka Stockade

Posted in Anniversary, Famous battles, History on Saturday, 30 January 2016

picture, Australia, Eureka Stockade, soldiers, rebellion

Colonial soldiers storm the Eureka Stockade. Illustration by Clive Uptton

3 December marks an important anniversary in Australian independence when the Eureka Rebellion broke out in 1854. Gold Miners at Eureka Lead, Ballarat, Australia, had been airing their grievances about the high cost of mining licenses and taxation during the Victorian gold rush and the actions of local military and police. The Ballarat Reform League was formed in September 1854 and growing tension spilled over into armed rebellion.

Miners built a ramshackle stockade to defend their position but were routed by the military and surrendered. 22 miners were brutally killed and news of the massacre spread rapidly turning the victory into a PR disaster. 120 ‘diggers’ were arrested and 13 put on trial for sedition and high treason. All 13 were acquitted and a subsequent enquiry made several recommendations in line with the demands of the rebels.

More pictures featuring the Eureka Stockade can be found here. Many more illustrations relating to the history of Australia, both human and natural, can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 109

Posted in Anniversary, Architecture, Best pictures, Christmas, Country House, Educational card, Historical articles, History, Invasions, Leisure, Music, Religion, Saints, War on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Wagner conducting Siegfried’s Idyll at Triebschen to celebrate the birth of his son, Siegfried.

Wagner, picture, image, illustration

Wagner conducts Siegfried's Idyll at Triebschen to celebrate the birth of his son

The second picture shows Saladdin’s entry into Jerusalem.

Saladdin, picture, image, illustration

Saladdin's Entry Into Jerusalem

The third picture shows a cook roasting a goose on St Martin’s Day, Germany, in the 18th Century.

Roasting, picture, image, illustration

Roasting a goose on St Martin's Day, Germany, 18th Century

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from ‘The Illustrated Times’, 2

Posted in Animals, Anniversary, Best pictures, Communications, Customs, Fashion, Historical articles, History, Leisure, London, Nature, Oddities, The Illustrated Times, Theatre on Saturday, 14 November 2015

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 Horse-Tamer.

horse, picture, image, illustration

Mr Rarey, the Horse-Tamer, operating upon Cruiser by Harrison Weir

The second picture shows ladies anxiously waiting for the postman on Valentine’s Day.

post, picture, image, illustration

St Valentine's Day, waiting for the Postman by A Slader

The third picture shows ice collectors at the Serpentine.

ice, picture, image, illustration

The late Frost, collecting Ice at the Serpentine, Hyde Park

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

The best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, 94

Posted in Actors, Anniversary, Best pictures, Famous Inventors, Historical articles, History, Inventions, London, Railways, The Graphic, Theatre, Transport, Travel on Saturday, 14 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, a nineteenth-century illustrated newspaper and rich source of remarkable engravings.
The first picture shows Jonas Hanway on St Swithin’s Day with his novel umbrella.

inventor, picture, image, illustration

St Swithin's, Jonas Hanway and His Umbrella by J D Linton

The second picture shows the opening of the Rangoon and Irrawaddy State Railway.

railway, picture, image, illustration

The First Railway in British Burmah, Opening of the Rangoon and Irrawaddy State Railway at Rangoon by J R Brown

The third picture shows Madame Patti’s reception at Covent Garden Theatre.

opera, picture, image, illustration

Madame Patti's Reappearance in Opera, her Reception after Act II of "La Traviata" at Covent Garden Theatre by J Gulich

High-resolution scans of all the illustrations from ‘The Graphic’ (London 1870-1902) can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, 86

Posted in America, Anniversary, Best pictures, Customs, Disasters, Famous Inventors, Historical articles, History, Inventions, Science, The Graphic on Friday, 13 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, a nineteenth-century illustrated newspaper and rich source of remarkable engravings.
The first picture shows the Chinese New Year.

China, picture, image, illustration

With the Allies in China, the Chinese New Year by F de Haenen

The second picture shows the Great Fire at the Chicago World’s Fair.

fire, picture, image, illustration

The Great Fire at the Chicago World's Fair, the destruction of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building by H C Brewer

The third picture shows Mr Edison in his Laboratory.

light, picture, image, illustration

The Electric Light, Mr Edison in his Laboratory, a Sketch from Life by F Villiers

High-resolution scans of all the illustrations from ‘The Graphic’ (London 1870-1902) can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, 10

Posted in America, Anniversary, Best pictures, Disasters, Discoveries, Exploration, Historical articles, History, The Graphic on Sunday, 8 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from ‘The Graphic’, a nineteenth-century illustrated newspaper and rich source of remarkable engravings.
The first picture shows an accident on the Matterhorn.

climber, picture, image, illustration

The Last Accident on the Matterhorn, August 1893 by J Nash

The second picture shows the Death-Chamber of Columbus.

Columbus, picture, image, illustration

The Death-Chamber of Columbus

The third picture shows a proposed monument to Christopher Columbus 400 years after the discovery of America.

Columbus, picture, image, illustration

The Proposed Monument in Memory of Christopher Columbus, to be erected at the Chicago Exhibition of 1892, to celebrate the Fourth Centenary of the Discovery of America

High-resolution scans of all the illustrations from The Graphic (London 1870-1902) can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The Night of the Declaration of War, August 4th, 1914

Posted in Anniversary, Famous news stories, Historical articles, History, London, Politics, War, World War 1 on Monday, 4 August 2014

August 4th 1914, picture, image, illustration

The Night of the Declaration of War, August 4th, 1914

As he waited for Germany’s reply to the British Ultimatum, Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, gazed out of his elegant windows in the Foreign Office and watched the lamplighter going about his business as that fateful long hot summer’s day turned to dusk. It was then he famously remarked: “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our life-time”.

D-day, June 6, 1944 – “the longest day”

Posted in Anniversary, Famous news stories, Historical articles, History, Invasions, World War 2 on Friday, 6 June 2014

This edited article about D-day originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 132 published on 25 July 1964.

D-day, picture, image, illustration

D-day landings

D-day, June 6, 1944 . . . the day all German-occupied Europe has been waiting for. Up the sandy beaches of Normandy in western France stumble the first assault troops of a vast Anglo-American invasion force. Slipping and lurching beneath their heavy equipment in the shallow waves, the soldiers follow the guiding ropes to firmer sand, then plunge ahead up the beach under cover of fire from their own ships and planes.

A stream of bullets zings out at them from a German gun-post behind the concrete defence-wall . . . and the first man falls. But his comrades press grimly on up the beach and over the wall, to capture the surprised Germans in their strongpoint.

The men on the beach are the first to have crossed the Channel and landed on French soil since the terrible retreat of French and British soldiers from Dunkirk, farther up the coast, three years ago. Behind them more and more troops are flooding up the beach. Nearly three million British, Canadian and American men have been drafted to this Allied Invasion Force, for the French coast must fall into Allied hands today.

It is the greatest invasion ever, planned over a period of two years as a turning-point in the Second World War. It has to succeed, if Europe is ever to be freed from the stranglehold of German occupation.

The planners have studied all available information on German coastal defences and have picked the lightly-defended sandy stretches between Cherbourg and Le Havre as a suitable landing base. They have backed up their invasion forces with thousands of planes, ships, armoured vehicles and weapons.

Earlier in the morning the first wave of American and British bombers attack the French coast, followed by thousands of other planes keeping up a relentless barrage. Massed parachute forces have been dropped behind enemy lines to seize roads and bridges; minesweepers have cleared a passage for the battleships which now add their bombardment of tons of shells to the heavy aircraft attack.

Every type of ship, big or small, has been commandeered for the Big Lift to carry troops across the Channel. Now, at 6.30 a.m., the first assault forces commanded by General Bernard Montgomery have landed and stormed the beaches.

By dusk more than 6,000 of “Monty’s” men will have died along the French coast on this mild June day. But the western blockade will have been breached and the Allied advance into Europe begun.

Happy 2014/1914

Posted in Absurd, Anniversary, Christmas on Sunday, 22 December 2013

Here, as our way of wishing you a Happy 2014, are a number of New Year’s cards for 1914, including one that is a little odd.

Best wishes from everyone at Look and Learn!

An Anniversary Fete held in the Thames Tunnel, London, in 1858

Posted in Anniversary, Famous landmarks, Historical articles, History, Leisure, London, Railways, Rivers on Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Thames Tunnel, picture, image, illustration

Thames Tunnel – anniversary fetes; from The Illustrated News of the World, 3 April 1858.

The Thames Tunnel was opened to the public on 25 March, 1843. It was the first tunnel in the world to be built under a navigable river, and quickly became a tourist attraction for visitors to London. In the early days of its construction Londoners had been admitted for one shilling, but by mid-century the new admission charge was just one penny, and around two million people a year paid to pass through some of the 1300 feet of the tunnel’s length. It was soon to be filled with stall-holders, hawkers, buskers and official musicians, including an organist performing on a grand instrument specially designed for the location. It also quickly became the haunt of prostitutes and criminals. Nevertheless, no tourist to the capital would be satisfied without visiting what one American called “the Eighth Wonder of the World”. Isambard Kingdom Brunel had himself held a banquet in the tunnel after repairing the damage in 1827, and now the work was finished and the attraction opened, others were quick to follow in using the space for celebration and entertainment. Its arches were festooned with lights and the interior served as banqueting hall, market hall, occasional ballroom and vast subterranean salon for fashionable society. It would be 1865 before it was finally bought by the East London Railway and put to use in the only way appropriate in the Railway Age – as a train tunnel.

Many more pictures relating to the Thames Tunnel can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.