In 1928 a Scottish doctor named Alexander Fleming was growing bacteria for investigation in little glass dishes in a room in his hospital by Paddington railway station in London. Microscopic mould spores drifted in through the window and settled in one of the dishes while the lid was off it for examination. Round where the mould grew in the dish, the bacteria appeared to be killed off.

The dishes in which bacteria were cultured often became spoiled or contaminated, and would then be thrown away as useless. But in this case Fleming, in a historic moment of curiosity and fortune, decided to cultivate the mould and investigate it. He found it was producing a substance which attacked bacteria. The substance he named penicillin (after the scientific name of the mould). Thus was discovered one of the most powerful drugs that man has ever found.

But it was another 13 years before penicillin was produced in a way which could be used to cure disease.

Back in the 1920s, there were two ways of treating infections. One was by vaccination: this assists the body’s natural defence against bacteria to fight off an infection. This method is known as immunisation, and though of great value for certain diseases, its effectiveness is limited.

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 a scene from Tosca.

La Tosca by Sardou

The second picture shows a kite flying festival in the imperial gardens, China.

Kite flying festival in the imperial gardens, China

The third picture shows Nikola Tesla’s experiment producing light generated by an electric transformer, 1895.

Nikola Tesla's experiment producing light generated by an electric transformer, 1895

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

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 the suicide of King Zhou of Shang.

The suicide of King Zhou of Shang

The second picture shows Captain Cook meeting with Maori chiefs in New Zealand, 1769.

Captain Cook meeting with Maori chiefs in New Zealand, 1769

The third picture shows the sacking of a town in the Middle Ages.

Sacking of a town in the Middle Ages

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

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 the reception of Vasco da Gama by the Samudiri of Calicut, India, May 1498.

Reception of Vasco da Gama by the Samudiri of Calicut, India, May 1498

The second picture shows men and women on bicycles.

Men and women on bicycles

The third picture shows Leonardo da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa

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

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 Johannes Kepler and a total eclipse of the Sun.

Johannes Kepler and a total eclipse of the Sun

The second picture shows Sciarra Colonna slapping Pope Boniface VIII across the face, 1303.

Sciarra Colonna slapping Pope Boniface VIII across the face, 1303

The third picture shows King Arthur’s Round Table.

King Arthur's Round Table

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

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 Mehmed the Conqueror, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Mehmed the Conqueror, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, makes his triumphal entrance into the Hagia Sophia after capturing Constantinople, 1453

The second picture shows Edward Jenner, who discovered a vaccine against smallpox.

Edward Jenner, English doctor and scientist who discovered a vaccine against smallpox

The third picture shows Scandinavian runes.

Scandinavian runes

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

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 monks bringing the first silk cocoons to the Emperor Justinian in Constantinople.

Monks bringing the first silk cocoons to the Emperor Justinian in Constantinople

The second picture shows the death of Georg Wilhelm Richmann, the German physicist.

Victims of Science: The death of Georg Wilhelm Richmann, German physicist (1711-1753)

The third picture shows a performance artist and his musical balancing act.

Musical balancing act

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

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 Christopher Columbus entering Barcelona in triumph, 15 April 1493.

Christopher Columbus enters Barcelona in triumph, 15 April 1493

The second picture shows a scene from Beethoven’s opera Fidelio.

Scene from Beethoven's opera Fidelio

The third picture shows Elizabeth I of England amongst her Navy’s sailors.

Elizabeth I of England amongst her Navy's sailors

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

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 Vasco da Gama leaving Lisbon with three ships loaded with provisions, 25 March 1497.

Vasco da Gama leaving Lisbon with three ships loaded with provisions, 25 March 1497

The second picture shows casting molten iron.

Casting molten iron

The third picture shows Aeneas fleeing the burning city of Troy.

Aeneas flees the burning city of Troy, carrying his aged father Anchises on his shoulders and leading his son Julus by the hand

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

This painfully revelatory picture shows an aged and humiliated Galileo in the prisoner’s dock in Rome. He was tried for heresy in 1633 by the Roman Catholic Inquisition, and was almost seventy years old at the time of his ordeal. Threatened with torture and compelled to abjure his opinions on heliocentrism, he did so under great duress muttering denials of his abjuration under his breath.

The trial of Galileo by C L Doughty

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