These vintage images are available for the first time for you to buy as superb quality fine art prints – posters, box canvas prints or framed prints.  Taken from the original prints they bring back to life the world’s major historic events as pictured in ‘The Illustrated London News’, ‘The Sketch’, ‘The Sphere’, and ‘The Tatler’. These vintage prints show world history in the making over the last 160 years.

The Illustrated London News was founded by Herbert Ingram and first published in May 1842.  It was the world’s first illustrated weekly newspaper comprising 16 pages of world news and events, interspersed with images of daily events of the time.  Launched at a time when Britain was embarking on an epoch of unprecedented expansion and prosperity, The Illustrated London News was the chief record of that age of achievement. It has become probably the most important and comprehensive single historical document ever compiled.

Realising the importance of images to convey news and to educate, Ingram brought the best artists, engravers and journalists to work on his paper. It was an instant hit,  the first issue selling 26,000 copies and within a year, the circulation, at sixpence - 6d, had risen to 60,000 and by 1856 to 200,000 (by the way ‘The Times’ had a circulation then of just 70,000).

Ingram revolutionised the use of wood engravings for creating hard copy prints to give the public up-to-the-minute depictions of the news; this led to the development of the photographic half-tone process. Success led to the establishment of further titles in the group - ‘The Sketch’ (1893), ‘The Sphere’ (1900) and ‘The Tatler’ (1901). The groundbreaking reputation continued with the rotary photo-gravure process and the introduction of natural colour photography.

Over the years, these titles played host to a wide range of first class writers - Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, George Augustus Sala, JM Barrie, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, GK Chesterton and Agatha Christie. And of course, a stellar cast of illustrators and artists - Melton Prior, Frederic Villiers, William Heath Robinson and his brother Charles, Edmund Blampied, Frank Reynolds, Mabel Lucie Atwell, Lawson Wood, G. E. Studdy, David Wright, HM Bateman, Louis Wain, Bruce Bairnsfather, CE Turner, R. Caton Woodville, A Forestier, and F Matania.

The Illustrated London News continued to push the boundaries of journalism forward throughout its history. As an institution, The Illustrated London News occupies a special place in many peoples’ hearts and memories. As a record of the times, the publications and these vintage prints are without equal. We hope you like your fine art print and will enjoy your own vintage print of British and World history.

For further information about the history of The Illustrated London News, please visit the picture library web site at www.ilnpictures.co.uk.

Click here for information about CreateOnline (the operator of this prints-on-demand site).