CHAPTER VIII.

The _Illustrated London News_--The Early Numbers--The Burning of Hamburgh--Facetious Advertisements--Bal Masque at Buckingham Palace--Attempted Assassination of the Queen--The Queen's First Trip by Railway--First Royal Visit to Scotland--Political Portraits--R. Cobden--Lord John Russell--Benjamin Disraeli--The French Revolution, 1848--The Great Exhibition, 1851--The Crimean War--Coloured Pictures--Christmas Numbers--Herbert Ingram--The _Pictorial Times_--Other Illustrated Journals.

Having traced the idea of illustrating the news of the day from the early 'news-book' through its various stages of growth and development, we come to the first regular illustrated newspaper that was established. The projector had long held the opinion, founded on his experience as a newsvendor at Nottingham, that such a publication would succeed. He had noticed that when the _Observer_ and the _Weekly Chronicle_ contained engravings, there was a much larger demand for those papers than when they were without illustrations, and he conceived the idea of starting a paper whose chief attraction should be its _pictures_. He thought if he could combine _art_ and _news_ together, he would be adding greatly to the ordinary attractions of a newspaper, and would probably secure a widely extended circle of readers. His customers at Nottingham often asked for the 'London news' when anything of interest was astir in the Metropolis, and his observant shrewdness led him to conclude that this would be a good name for his paper. He accordingly called it the _Illustrated London News_, and under that title the first number appeared on May 14th, 1842. It contained sixteen printed pages and thirty-two woodcuts, including all the little headings to the columns, price sixpence, and it equalled in size the _Atlas_ which was then sold for a shilling, without engravings. It was printed by R. Palmer (at the office of Palmer and Clayton), 10 Crane Court, Fleet Street, and published by J. Clayton, 320 Strand. The introductory address is written in a florid and inflated style; but it shows a correct perception of the wide and varied range that would have to be taken by an illustrated newspaper.

The well-known engraved heading represents a view of London from the Thames, as it was then,--St. Paul's towering in the centre, and the Lord Mayor's procession in State barges passing up the river. The first engraving is a 'View of the Conflagration of the City of Hamburgh,' which began on May 5th, and continued for several days. A great part of the city was destroyed, and more than one hundred lives were lost. As marking an epoch in the history of the Pictorial Press, I reprint this engraving and some others from the early numbers. The next cut is apparently a view of some town in Italy or France; but there is no name to the engraving or any reference to it in the surrounding text, which is all about the dreadful railway accident between Paris and Versailles which had then just occurred, whereby fifty persons were killed, and one hundred and fifty were more or less injured. On the next page are views of the city of Cabul and the fortress of Ghuznee, just then the seat of stirring events. The columns of 'Foreign Intelligence,' 'The Court and Haut Ton,' 'Births, Marriages, and Deaths,' were each headed by a small woodcut, an example of which is given here. There is also an illustration of ladies' fashions, accompanied by a gushing, descriptive letter from Paris, beginning: 'Dear Mr. Editor, I feel an inexpressible delight in inditing my first communication to your lady readers, upon the fashions of the _haut ton_ of this _ville de gaite_. So suddenly and with such power has the sun lately shot forth, that there is no end to invention in our spring fashions.'

It would appear that illustrated police reports were to have formed part of the attractions of the paper, and several small cuts dealing with humorous subjects are scattered through the early numbers. The cases were evidently selected with a view to provoke merriment rather than to indulge a morbid taste for criminal records, and seem to show that the paper in its early days possessed something of the frolicsomeness of youth, and did not consider a joke beneath its dignity. It had its wild oats to sow, and was not indisposed to emulate its contemporary _Punch_, then also a young joker. The first illustrations of the kind relate to a case at the Mansion House before Sir Peter Laurie, where the manager of a matrimonial institution sought to defend his establishment from the strictures of that celebrated 'putter-down.' A few pages further on we come upon two facetious advertisements, one of them professing to have been called forth by the report of the above case at the Mansion House:--

'MATRIMONY.--A _professional_ gentleman, who has for some time past enrolled the category of his multitudinous graces, accomplishments, and _prospects_, in the portfolio of the "Matrimonial Alliance Establishment," fearing that, under the influence of Sir Peter Laurie's recent animadversion they will waste their sweetness unseen--unknown in the rose-tinted volume of the modern Hymen, avails himself of the glorious opportunity afforded to advertisers by the proprietors of the _Illustrated London News_, "and boldly and unhesitatingly submits his picture in little," to the approving smiles of the fair daughters (and _widows_) of Albion's Isle, conscious of his perfect sincerity in stating that he has no _insurmountable_ objection to fortune being combined with beauty, taste, lively disposition, and cheerful temper; he feels assured that the lovely creature whose eyes shall be fortunate enough, first to meet this advertisement (and then the advertiser), will secure to herself a perfect amenity, if truth be truth, and manners--not money--make the man. Address, with portrait (miniature set in gold, pearls, or other precious stones, not refused), A. Donis Slim, Esq., 320 Strand.'

The other advertisement referred to is of an entirely different character, being addressed to the commercial world:--

'CAPITAL SPEC! Safe as the Bank!--Wanted a partner in a snug, genteel little concern, with an airy and pleasant corner situation in one of the most densely crowded thoroughfares of the Metropolis, and doing a good, ready-money business, without much risk; which an increase of capital would considerably extend. The returns exceed the outlay, and the Sunday custom alone covers the rent. The taxes are redeemed, and there is a long unexpired term of the lease, which is held at a lolly-pop. The coming into a half-share, including plant and stock, very moderate--say a trifle above 0000_l._ Any person who can command the above sum will not only find this a decided bargain, but a very desirable opportunity of commencing business, and well worthy the attention of an industrious person of small means and less family. References exchanged. Address, prepaid, to B. B. (Brandy Ball), Pieman's Alley.'

The principal engravings in this first number illustrate the first Bal Masque given by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. They were drawn by Sir John Gilbert, then at the beginning of his career, and it was most fortunate for the new enterprise that an artist of such great and varied abilities was found at the very outset to give his powerful aid to the undertaking. His wonderful facility and bold picturesqueness were exactly suited to the requirements of an illustrated newspaper. The first enabled him to do his work with marvellous quickness, and the second was an excellent counterpoise to the damaging effects of hurried engraving and rapid printing. The illustrations of the Queen's Bal Masque are eight in number, including character portraits of Her Majesty and the Prince Consort. There are two cuts from a book under review, and the last illustration in the number represents a long line of men carrying advertising boards 'to proclaim the advent of this important publication.'

The first number sold well, probably because the public was curious to see what the new paper was like. Twenty-six thousand copies were disposed of, but there was a great falling-off in the sale of the second number, which opened with a leading article explaining the principles that were to guide the paper in its future career. The cut on the front page represents the ceremony of taking the veil, and was evidently drawn by Gilbert. The next engravings illustrate Waghorn's Overland Route to India, then recently organized, followed by an illustrated account of the sale at Strawberry Hill, and a portrait of a then notorious criminal, Daniel Good, which is accompanied by an editorial apology disclaiming all intention of joining the 'raw-head and bloody-bones' school, but in the interests of science commending the portrait to the disciples of Lavater. This is the only instance of such an engraving being inserted in the paper (with the exception of the portrait of MacNaghten, who shot Mr. Drummond), and it is evident the editor's better feeling revolted against it, although he was only following the example of the _Observer_ and the _Weekly Chronicle_.

The first engraving in No. 3 is a portrait of Mehemet Ali, which is given in connexion with further illustrations of the Overland Route to India. But the most important picture in this number is a portrait of the Queen with the baby Prince of Wales in her lap, drawn by Gilbert. There is also the first example of a sporting illustration--a portrait of Attila, the winner of the Derby, which accompanies an account of Epsom Races, with several other engravings.

An event now occurred which afforded the first important opportunity of illustrating the news of the hour. This was the attempt on the life of the Queen, who was fired at as she was driving up Constitution Hill by a young man named Francis. The public excitement on this occasion was very great, and it is a little surprising that the _Illustrated London News_ did not make more of it. In No. 4 there are two illustrations in connexion with this event, one representing the attempted assassination, the other the examination of the prisoner before the Privy Council. The engravings are not very imposing, but large blocks had not then come into use; and as the event occurred on a Monday there was not too much time, with the limited means then at command, to produce them on a large scale. In No. 6 there is a small cut entitled 'The Queen's first trip by Railway,' which illustrates an account of her Majesty's first journey by railway from Windsor to London. With the exception of the drawings by Gilbert most of the illustrations in these first six numbers are of an inferior character, and show that the conductors of the paper had not yet obtained the best artistic help. Indeed it was a long time before the higher class of artists and engravers would believe that an illustrated newspaper was worthy of their professional attention. Illustrations of the Police Reports continued to be scattered through the early numbers, mingled with such subjects as a ballet at Her Majesty's Theatre, a public dinner, a launch, a horserace, and sketches of the Chartist riots at Preston. The Queen's first visit to Scotland was very copiously illustrated, and a series of 'Popular Portraits' was begun which included most of the prominent politicians of the day. In No. 11 the fatal accident to the Duke of Orleans is illustrated; and further on the hand of Gilbert is visible in the drawings representing the funeral of the Duke of Sussex, the Lord Mayor's Show, and the grand Polish Ball at Guildhall. With No. 19 the office was removed to 198 Strand, where it has remained ever since. The first Cattle Show illustrations occur in No. 31, and it is evident that the artists by whom they were executed had not made that kind of art their special study. The approach of Christmas is heralded by the introduction of various laughable sketches; the Pantomimes are illustrated by Alfred Crowquill, and Christmas himself is welcomed in a 'Song of the Wassail Bowl.' Kenny Meadows finishes the volume with a party of Cupids carrying the _Illustrated London News_ through the air, while a literary and artistic Cupid, cap in hand, makes his bow to the reader.

The first volume ends with the year 1842, and it has for a frontispiece a large view of London, a title-page drawn by Gilbert, and headings to preface and index by Kenny Meadows. The preface is written in the florid style of the introductory address in the first number; but the following passage refers, not inappropriately, to the value and interest of the work to the future historian:--

'What would Sir Walter Scott or any of the great writers of modern times have given--whether for the purposes of fiction or history, or political example or disquisition--for any museum-preserved volume such as we have here enshrined. The life of the times--the signs of its taste and intelligence--its public monuments and public men--its festivals--institutions--amusements--discoveries--and the very reflection of its living manners and costumes--the variegated dresses of its mind and body--what are--what _must_ be all these but treasures of truth that would have lain hid in Time's tomb, or perished amid the sand of his hour-glass but for the enduring and resuscitating powers of art--the eternal register of the pencil giving life and vigour and palpability to the confirming details of the pen. Could the days of Elizabeth or others as bright and earlier still be unfolded to us through such a mirror, what a mint of wisdom might we gather in from such dazzling periods of the past! Of just as much captivating value then is such a book to the future. It will pour the lore of the Antiquarian into the scholar's yearning soul, and teach him truth about those who have gone before him, as it were, with the Pictorial Alphabet of Art! It is in this sense that we regard the greatness of our design, and are proud of its envied and unexampled success; and it is for this end that we shall strain every nerve to perfect it into order and completeness that may accord with the beauty and brilliancy which many episodes of its execution have already been fortunate to display. Scott might carry Elizabeth to Kenilworth through the regions of his fine imagination, backed and supported by books, and we may take _cum grano salis_ the Antiquarian's and the Poet's word, but the year two thousand will be ten times better assured of all the splendid realities of our own Victoria's visit to the native land of the Northern Magician who enshrined in fiction the glories of Queen Bess. This volume is a work that history _must_ keep.'

At the end of the preface is printed the following 'Dedicatory Sonnet:'--

'To the great public,--that gigantic soul Which lends the nation's body life and light, And makes the blood within its veins grow bright With gushing glory,--we this muster-roll Of all the deeds that pass 'neath its controul Do dedicate,--the page of simple news Is here adorned and filled with pictured life, Coloured with thousand tints--the rainbow strife Of all the world's emotions--all the hues Of war--peace--commerce;--agriculture rife With budding plenty that doth life infuse And fair domestic joy--all--all are here To gild the _new_, and from the bygone year Present a gift to take--to cherish and to use.'

The second volume began with several improvements. A 'Romance of Real Life,' by Henry Cockton, illustrated by Kenny Meadows, was the first attempt to infuse a new interest into newspaper literature by the introduction of fiction. Stories by Thomas Miller and others followed. This feature of the paper was continued for some time until _fiction_ was crowded out by _fact_. The popular portraits were done on a larger scale and were of a more ambitious character. In No. 40 there is one of Lord John Russell, which is reprinted here as an example of the improved portraiture of the period.

In the following year was commenced a series of 'Parliamentary Portraits,' one of which I have selected to accompany the portrait of Lord John Russell. It is that of Mr. Disraeli, and it will perhaps interest the reader to compare the present estimate of Lord Beaconsfield with what was said of Mr. Disraeli in 1844. The following is a portion of the article which accompanies the portrait:--'The most remarkable speeches in the recent debates have been those of Mr. Disraeli, the Member for Shrewsbury. He has lately made himself more prominent in the sphere of literature and politics as the expounder of the views and opinions of that section of the Conservative party which has received the name of "Young England." His opinions however are too peculiar, have too much individuality ever to become those of a party. We scarcely think "Young England" capable of holding as points of belief the startling paradoxes to which Mr. Disraeli occasionally gives utterance. His speeches abound with happily turned sentences, in which a clever sarcasm is thrown into the antithetical form; they also contain a large amount of historical information, on which he draws almost as often as Macaulay himself. He rarely announces a positively new principle, but he often places old ones in a strange and startling light, and states the most extraordinary inconsistencies with an air of such perfect earnestness and conviction that his auditors are sometimes puzzled whether to admire or laugh at him. But he is not one of those men who can be laughed at; we have seen him turn the laugh most sorely against those who thought themselves securely trenched behind form and precedent. He can hit hard, and none have suffered more from his sarcasm than the present Premier and the Home Secretary. He seems to mangle them with peculiar gusto, and deals with them as if he was annihilating the Tadpole or Taper of his own "Coningsby." His speeches have not much metaphor, nor does he indulge in rhetorical glitter and ornament; we cannot call him impassioned, nor say he is eloquent; but he interests, informs, and amuses. A speech from Disraeli is sure to command attention. His manner is not calculated to set off his matter to the best advantage. His delivery is heavy, and of action he has none whatever. He thrusts his hands deep into his side-pockets, leans forward a little, or turns from side to side according to whom he may be addressing. But that is all. Though he sets the House cheering or laughing for minutes together, his countenance remains impassive; he says a good thing as if perfectly unconscious of it.'

The paper rapidly advanced in public favour and soon reached a circulation of 66,000. It celebrated the completion of the first year of its existence by the publication of a double number, profusely illustrated by Gilbert, Harvey, and Kenny Meadows.

The _Illustrated London News_ was not established without many misgivings as to its ultimate success. Its founder probably did not at first realise all the difficulties that lay in his way, but as fast as they appeared he met them with characteristic courage and energy, and overcame them by perseverance. He seized on every opportunity to consolidate the strength of the paper, and paid a great amount of personal attention to its management, often denying himself sleep one or two nights a-week. As the profits increased he kept on increasing the scope and number of its attractive features. He made it a rule to spare no expense in every department of the journal; whatever money could command for its success he resolved to have. After a time he was able to act on this wise resolve to the fullest extent, and in the end he achieved a great success.

In describing the _Illustrated London News_ during the first year of its existence, I have directed attention chiefly to the pictorial portion of its contents, that being the characteristic feature of the paper by which it was distinguished from its purely literary contemporaries. The engravings I have reprinted from it are given as curiosities and not as specimens of excellence. The succeeding volumes contain abundant evidence that the highest talent was afterwards employed in producing the best examples of art as well as in the illustration of news. In its sixth year the course of public events opened up new and stirring scenes for its pages. So great was the interest felt in the exciting events of the year 1848, that the sale of the _Illustrated London News_ was more than doubled in three months. The vigorous sketches of the French Revolution published week after week were so eagerly bought that the publisher was not always able to meet the demand. On one occasion he was freely pelted with flour and other harmless missiles because the London 'trade' could not get their supply soon enough to satisfy their impatience. The noisy newsboys, in mocking imitation of the Paris mob which was then making the streets of that city ring with cries of 'a bas Guizot!' vented their indignation against the publisher of the _Illustrated London News_ by shouting 'a bas Little! a bas Little!'

But though the year of revolutions was so rich in materials for pictorial journalism, the year of the Great Exhibition was yet more fruitful. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a perfect novelty, and was hailed as the harbinger of peace on earth and good-will among men. Coming so soon after the convulsions of 1848, the peaceful display was more enchanting from the contrast. Such a golden opportunity was not lost upon the pictorial press, and every stage of the construction of the first Crystal Palace was represented. The very plan of the building was first made public in the pages of the _Illustrated London News_, the first design adopted by the Commissioners having been superseded by Sir Joseph Paxton's Palace of Glass. The building was shown in progress from the raising of the first column, and its removal was illustrated to the clearing away of the foundations. In this 'Festival of Labour' the _Illustrated London News_ took a prominent place. An edition was printed in the Exhibition building by one of Applegarth's vertical printing-machines, then the quickest method of printing in use. At this time the paper was distinguished by the number and excellence of its illustrations, and the '_London News_' printing-machine was one of the attractions of the 'World's Fair.'

In three years more the dreams of universal peace created by the Great Exhibition were rudely swept away by the declaration of war with Russia and subsequent invasion of the Crimea. The long and disastrous siege of Sebastopol, the assaults on the Redan and the Malakoff, the battles of Balaclava and Inkermann, supplied the most exciting subjects for illustration. It was the first great war since Waterloo, and the national excitement being intensified by the maladministration of the Government, the British public eagerly bought the war sketches. The sale of the paper at this time was very great, yet it is a curious fact that it never reached so high a figure as during the peaceful exhibition of 1851,--a proof that, after all, the arts of peace are more attractive than the excitement of war.

At Christmas, 1855, a novel feature was introduced into the _Illustrated London News_. For some years a Christmas number had been published, and it was now for the first time printed in _colours_. It is true the coloured pictures were little more than ordinary woodcuts with tints printed over them, but their imperfections were principally owing to the breakdown of machinery and the great hurry in which they were produced. In after years much better things were done, and the coloured Christmas pictures which have been for many years produced at the chromatic press of Leighton Bros. take rank among the best work of the kind. They have proved exceedingly popular, and always sold well. That of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' after J. Sant, R.A., published in 1863, was reprinted again and again, until the blocks were utterly worn out. They were then re-engraved, and again reprinted. The Christmas picture issued in 1882 ('Cinderella') was specially painted by Mr. Millais, R.A., at the price of 3000 guineas. When it is noted that the large coloured reproduction of this picture, together with seventeen highly finished full-page engravings by some of the best artists of the day, were sold for a shilling, it will be seen that the pictorial press is no unimportant factor in diffusing the purifying and softening influence of art.

During the forty-two years that have elapsed since the first illustrated newspaper was founded, there has never been any long interval of peace. War of some kind, big or little, has broken out, like a volcano, on some part of the earth's surface, and kept the Argus-eyed newspaper editor on the alert. From Alma to Tel-el-Kebir and the desert warfare of the Soudan, there has been a succession of conflicts, with only a short interval of a few years between; so that the food on which picture newspapers thrive best has been abundantly supplied, and this remarkable offspring of the printing-press has consequently increased and multiplied, and is now found in every corner of the earth, 'from China to Peru.' The reader may form some idea of the magnitude of the operations in connexion with illustrated journalism when I state that at the marriage of the Prince of Wales the _Illustrated London News_ of that week consisted of three sheets, and 930,000 sheets were printed of that issue in one week. These sheets, if placed side by side, would cover 660 miles, so that, as they were printed on both sides, they represent a printed surface of, after deductions for margin, more than 1115 miles in length. Nearly eighty tons of paper and twenty-three hundredweight of printing-ink were used in the production of that number. Larger quantities have been printed of some issues, but the production was spread over a longer period of time. 930,000 sheets is the largest quantity ever printed _in one week_. It will thus be seen what an amount of business this represents to the paper-maker, the ink-maker, the wood-draughtsman, the engravers, the electrotypers, the compositors, printers, machine-men, roller-makers, warehousemen, and the numerous other workers in a newspaper printing-office.

The first editor of the _Illustrated London News_ was Mr. Bailey, who was nicknamed 'Alphabet Bailey' on account of the great number of his Christian names, and the consequent multiplicity of his initials. He was also called 'Omnibus Bailey' from his having edited a periodical called the _Omnibus_. These names were given to him to distinguish him from Mr. Thomas Haynes Bayley, the sentimental song-writer, author of 'I'd be a Butterfly,' 'The Soldier's Tear,' &c. Dr. Charles Mackay became the literary and political editor of the paper in 1848, and in 1852 he took its entire management and control, in which position he continued till 1859, when he resigned. The late John Timbs was for many years on the editorial staff, and his familiar figure is well remembered in the old room at 198 Strand, where he sat with paste and scissors, undisturbed by the noises which surrounded him both inside and outside the house, for in this one room the whole business of the paper was at one time conducted. Here the young literary or artistic aspirant, who thought he saw in the new journal an opening for his hitherto unappreciated talents, had to explain his proposals before the eyes and in the hearing of rivals who were waiting for their turn. The place was open to all comers, and was at once the centre of managerial, financial, and editorial affairs. But the founder of the paper received all who came with good-humour and generous feeling, and never disregarded a useful hint or refused the proffered assistance of a good man.

Herbert Ingram, the founder of the _Illustrated London News_, was born at Boston, Lincolnshire, on the 27th of May, 1811. He lost his father very early, and being sent to the Boston Free School, he there obtained all the school education he ever received. The course of instruction through which he passed was of the most circumscribed character, making his success in after-life all the more remarkable. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to Mr. Jos. Clarke, then a printer living in the Market Place, Boston. His master soon found that he possessed industry, patience, and perseverance in a high degree, qualities which unquestionably lay at the root of his subsequent success in life. He was always ready to work all night when orders were plentiful, and was unwilling to abandon anything he began until it was entirely complete. He established a character for punctuality and trustworthiness, while he carefully looked after the interests of his employer. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he came to London and worked for about two years as a journeyman printer. He then settled in Nottingham, and commenced business as a printer, bookseller, and newsagent.

It was at this time Mr. Ingram was struck with the evident partiality of the public for _illustrated news_. He found such an extraordinary demand for the numbers of the _Weekly Chronicle_ containing the engravings of the Greenacre murder that he set seriously to work on the scheme of an illustrated newspaper, and put himself in communication with Mr. Marriott, who was then the manager of the _Weekly Chronicle_. But at the outset it appeared impossible to overcome the difficulty of producing pictures quick enough and in such numbers as would furnish forth a paper while the news was fresh. In the gradual development of the first illustrated newspaper it was, however, found that the draughtsmen and engravers of the day were fully equal to the demands made upon them, and a system of quick production was soon established which kept the paper on a level with current events.

Mr. Ingram, who had settled in London before he started the _Illustrated London News_, entered heart and soul into his new enterprise. He had much to learn, and many things to do that were neither easy nor pleasant, but he had the rare faculty of picking out the right men to help him. It was his wise policy to employ the best talent, and in order to have it to pay its possessor munificently. He was brought closely into connexion with the artistic and literary world, by whom he was sincerely respected, and with whom his dealings were uniformly marked by kindness and liberality. Though he had not himself received the advantages of literary or artistic culture, he was able to do much in diffusing a knowledge and love of art amongst the people. His enterprise helped to change the character of public taste, and allured it into channels which were previously open only to the wealthy and the refined. His practical knowledge as a printer and newsagent were of infinite value in organizing and conducting the varied details of newspaper business. He was ever on the watch, and made opportunities where other men would have been indifferent and inactive. When a new Archbishop of Canterbury was installed the number of the paper containing an engraving of the ceremony was sent to every clergyman in England, and this was followed by a large and permanent increase in the number of subscribers--the first large rise in the sale since the paper began. At a much later date--long after the paper had become firmly established--the French authorities stopped the sale of the _Illustrated London News_ in Paris on account of some article reflecting on the Emperor Napoleon. Mr. Ingram happened to be in Paris at the time, and he immediately showed that the old energy and perseverance of the Nottingham newsvendor had not forsaken him. He used great exertions to get the paper released, in which he at length succeeded, and he himself afterwards went round in a cab and delivered the numbers to the various subscribers. When he was at Nottingham he walked five miles (and of course five miles back) to supply a gentleman with a single paper; and on one occasion he got up at two in the morning, and travelled to London to get some papers, the ordinary post not arriving soon enough to satisfy the curiosity of his customers. His exertions were rewarded by the sale of more than 1000 copies of that paper in Nottingham alone. This was probably one of the occasions which struck him so forcibly when the Nottingham public manifested such an eager interest in _illustrated news_.

Throughout his life Mr. Ingram was devoted to the interests of his native town, and in return the people of Boston, in 1856, elected him as their representative in Parliament. At the general election which occurred after the dissolution in 1857 he was returned again. Amongst other social and political questions in which he took an active interest he was prominent in the agitation for the repeal of the stamp duty on newspapers. He also exerted himself zealously for the repeal of the paper duty, but he died before that important movement was brought to a successful issue. In 1848 Mr. Ingram started a cheap daily paper--the _Morning Telegraph_--upon which he spent a large amount of money. He was, however, before the time in this instance. The era of cheap daily papers had not begun, and after a time the new speculation was abandoned. He was one of the original shareholders of the _Great Eastern_ steamship, and was on board the giant vessel when the accident occurred on her trial trip from the Nore to Portland Harbour. It is a remarkable circumstance that the dreadful catastrophe in which he lost his life happened on the anniversary of this accident on board the _Great Eastern_.

In 1860 Mr. Ingram visited America accompanied by his eldest son. They left Liverpool in the _North American_ on the 9th of August, and landed at Quebec in time to witness, after traversing the Lower St. Lawrence, the knocking in of the 'last wedge' of the Victoria Bridge at Montreal by the Prince of Wales. They then went on to Niagara, where they stayed some days. From Niagara Mr. Ingram proceeded to Chicago, intending to cross the prairies, and to follow the Mississippi to New Orleans, and thence to New York, but more especially to Boston, which old associations of history had determined him to make the conclusion of his sojourn in the United States. He altered his plans, however, and decided to visit Lake Superior, and to prolong his stay in America, proposing to return to England about the end of October.

Mr. Ingram left Chicago at midnight on the 7th of September, accompanied by his son, in the _Lady Elgin_ steamer, bound on an excursion up Lakes Michigan and Superior. Nearly four hundred persons were on board. The wind blew hard from the north-east, and a heavy sea was running, but no one thought of danger, and there was music and dancing in the saloon. Thirty miles from Chicago and ten miles from land, about two o'clock on the morning of the 8th, there came a sudden crash. The schooner _Augusta_, sailing at the rate of eleven knots an hour, had struck the _Lady Elgin_ on the midships gangway, and then, having her sails set, and the wind blowing freshly, drifted off in the darkness. At first it was not thought that any serious damage had been done to the steamer, but those on board soon found that she was settling fast. The captain ordered parts of the woodwork of the vessel to be cut adrift to serve as rafts, and made such other provisions as the hurry would allow. In less than half-an-hour the hurricane deck floated off, and the hulk with the machinery went to the bottom with a tremendous noise. When the vessel parted all lights were extinguished, and the unfortunate passengers were left struggling amid the waves in total darkness. The steamer sank in three hundred feet of water, the sea was running high, and the land was ten miles away. Some of those who survived to see the dawn were drifted towards the shore on pieces of the wreck, and were drowned in the surf in the sight of hundreds of spectators. Out of 393 persons on board only 114 were saved. Among the drowned were Mr. Ingram and his son. The body of Mr. Ingram was washed ashore about sixteen miles from Chicago, and every effort was used to restore animation, but in vain. The body of his son was never found.

The citizens of Chicago were profoundly impressed by the melancholy fate of father and son, so far away from home and friends. Mr. Ingram's remains were escorted from the Brigg's House Hotel to the railway station by a procession of more than eight hundred of the British residents in the neighbourhood. The body was taken to Quebec and conveyed on board the _Bohemian_ steamer, which arrived at Liverpool on the 2nd of October. From thence the remains were removed to Boston, and interred in the new cemetery at Skirbeck, about a mile from the centre of the town. On the day of the funeral all the shops and places of business in Boston were closed, the inhabitants filled the streets and followed the procession up to the gates of the cemetery. It was in every sense a public funeral, and afforded the strongest testimony of the respect in which the memory of the deceased was held by his fellow-townsmen. Two years afterwards, on October 6th, 1862, a statue of Mr. Ingram, raised by public subscription, was unveiled in the market-place at Boston. The life that began in the quaint old Lincolnshire town and ended amid the stormy waters of Lake Michigan, has now an enduring memorial standing not far from the spot where Herbert Ingram was born.

The _Illustrated London News_ no sooner became an assured success than it was imitated. The _Pictorial Times_ was the first competitor that entered the field, and a very strong literary staff was collected to contend for the new path that had been opened. Douglas Jerrold wrote the leading articles; Thackeray was critic and reviewer, in which capacity he reviewed Macaulay's _Essays_ and Disraeli's _Coningsby_; Mark Lemon was dramatic critic, Peter Cunningham art critic, while Gilbert A'Beckett was the humorous contributor; the managing editor was Henry Vizetelly, and Knight Hunt, author of the _Fourth Estate_, afterwards editor of the _Daily News_, was the sub-editor. One man who has since become famous as a journalist was amongst the artists employed on the new paper. Those who only know Mr. George Augustus Sala as a brilliant writer will be surprised to learn that he is also a facile draughtsman, and was on the artistic staff of the _Pictorial Times_ in 1847. The _Pictorial Times_ was continued for several years, but it never achieved such a measure of success as to become permanently established. A story used to be told in connexion with it which gave some countenance to the popular belief that some of the sketches in illustrated newspapers were evolved from the inner consciousness of the artists. I cannot answer for the truth of the anecdote, but I know it served to amuse the world of Bohemia at the time. When the Queen and Prince Albert went first to Scotland, the newspapers in recording the movements of the royal party related, among other things (quoting a Scottish contemporary), that Her Majesty and the Prince had gone one day to 'see the shearing.' The conductors of the _Pictorial Times_ seeing this, and being anxious to present their readers with a perfect record of the royal doings, forthwith set an artist to work to produce a pleasant pastoral scene, with a group of shepherds _shearing their sheep_--not knowing that 'shearing' in Scotland means _cutting the corn_, and forgetting for the moment that sheep-shearing is not usually done in the autumn.

Much energy and capital have been expended on several other attempts to found pictorial journals in London, but most of them failed to secure a profitable footing. _Pen and Pencil_ contained some capital cuts by Linton; and the _Illustrated Times_, a threepenny paper, was well done. The _Illustrated News of the World_, in addition to numerous woodcuts, issued portraits engraved on steel. _The Ladies' Newspaper_ was started to fill a supposed void in journalism, but was ultimately absorbed by the _Queen_, in which connexion it still flourishes. The _Illustrated Midland News_ was brought out in Manchester, but it could not find in that city and its neighbourhood sufficient sustenance to subsist beyond a brief period. The _Illustrated London and Provincial News_ in its title endeavoured to attract both town and country, but it only had a short career. While these different ventures were in progress, the _Penny Illustrated Paper_ appealed to a lower stratum of the public with great success, and it has now a very large sale, having combined the _Illustrated Times_ with its original title. In some of these enterprises the promoters appear to have been unable to shake off, in choosing their titles, the fascinating influence of the word 'illustrated.' A joint-stock company broke the spell, and started a paper with the very original title of the _Graphic_ on the eve of the great war between France and Germany. It was a most favourable time for establishing a new paper, and the conductors handled the opportunity with great ability and success. The printing and general _get-up_ of the _Graphic_ are excellent, and it has earned for itself a wide popularity. The _Pictorial World_ was started as a threepenny paper, and after existing several years at that price it became the property of a company and was raised to sixpence. During the Egyptian War it made strenuous efforts to obtain a footing on the same platform with the _Illustrated London News_ and the _Graphic_. The large lithographic portraits published by the _Pictorial World_ were very good. As the public taste improved under the influence of the pictorial press new fields were opened up for cultivation by the enterprising journalist. The _Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News_ addressed itself not only to the sportsman and actor, but also to that section of the public which finds amusement in the incidents and humours of the sporting world and the stage. It has deservedly obtained a good position. The last new comer on the journalistic stage is the _Ladies' Pictorial_, which has recently been enlarged and greatly improved. Its light and elegant contents are well suited to the tastes of its numerous patrons. All the existing illustrated papers in London have their publishing offices in the 'Line of Literature,' as Fleet Street and the Strand have been called. In the streets and courts in the neighbourhood are housed numbers of engravers and draughtsmen, who find it mutually convenient to work in the vicinity of the head-quarters of pictorial journalism. Many of the same fraternity consume the midnight oil in distant suburbs, their work gravitating to the great centre in the morning.

All the countries of Europe, the United States, some of the cities of South America, the Colonies of Canada and Australia, have now their illustrated newspapers. Some of them supplement their own productions by reproducing the engravings from the English papers, and many have attained a high degree of artistic merit. The American journals are especially noteworthy for their excellent engravings.