''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in 2003. The company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content, and digital agency in London, which holds the publication and business archives of the magazine.

History

1842–1860: Herbert Ingram

''The Illustrated London News'' founder Herbert Ingram was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1811, and opened a printing, newsagent, and bookselling business in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

around 1834 in partnership with his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Cooke.Isabel Bailey
"Ingram, Herbert (1811–1860)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 17 September 2014] As a newsagent, Ingram was struck by the reliable increase in newspaper sales when they featured pictures and shocking stories. Ingram began to plan a weekly newspaper that would contain pictures in every edition. Ingram rented an office, recruited artists and reporters, and employed as his editor

Frederick William Naylor Bayley Frederick William Naylor Bayley (1808–1853) was an English miscellaneous writer. Life Bayley, in 1825 accompanied his father, who was in the army, to Barbados, and remained in the West Indies for four years. About the time of his return to Engl ...

(1808–1853), formerly editor of the ''National Omnibus''. The first issue of ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared on Saturday, 14 May 1842, timed to report on the young

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's first masquerade ball.James Bishop, "The Story of the ILN", ''Illustrated London News'' 150th anniversary issue, Vol. 280, No. 7106. Its 16 pages and 32

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and pr ...

s covered topics such as the war in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

, the

Versailles rail accident On 8 May 1842, a train crashed in the cutting between Meudon and Bellevue stations on the railway between Versailles and Paris, France. The train was travelling to Paris when it derailed after the leading locomotive broke an axle, and the carr ...

, a survey of the candidates for the US presidential election, extensive crime reports, theatre and book reviews, and a list of births, marriages, and deaths. Ingram hired 200 men to carry placards through the streets of London promoting the first edition of his new newspaper. Jumbo's Journey to the Docks

Costing sixpence, the first issue sold 26,000 copies. Despite this initial success, sales of the second and subsequent editions were disappointing. However, Ingram was determined to make his newspaper a success, and sent every clergyman in the country a copy of the edition that contained illustrations of the installation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and by this means secured a great many new subscribers. Its circulation soon increased to 40,000, and by the end of its first year was 60,000. In 1851, after the newspaper published Joseph Paxton's designs for the Crystal Palace before even

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

had seen them, the circulation rose to 130,000. In 1852, when it produced a special edition covering the funeral of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

, sales increased to 150,000; and in 1855, mainly due to the newspaper reproducing some of Roger Fenton's pioneering photographs of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

(and also due to the abolition of the Stamp Act that taxed newspapers), it sold 200,000 copies per week. Competitors soon began to appear; ''Lloyd’s Illustrated Paper'' was founded later that year, while '' Reynold's Newspaper'' opened in 1850; both were successful Victorian publications, albeit less successful than ''The Illustrated London News''. Andrew Spottiswoode's ''Pictorial Times'' lost £20,000 before it was sold to Ingram by Henry Vizetelly, who had left the ''ILN'' to found it. Ingram folded it into another purchase, ''The Lady's Newspaper'', which became ''The Lady's Newspaper and Pictorial Times''. Vizetelly was also behind a later competitor, '' Illustrated Times'' in 1855, which was similarly bought out by Ingram in 1859. Ingram's other early collaborators left the business in the 1850s. Nathanial Cooke, his business partner and brother-in-law, found himself in a subordinate role in the business and parted on bad terms around 1854. The departure of William Little was in 1858; in addition to providing a loan of £10,000, he was the printer and publisher of the paper for 15 years. Little's relationship with Ingram deteriorated over Ingram's harassment of their mutual sister-in-law. Herbert Ingram died on 8 September 1860 in a paddle-steamer accident on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

, and he was succeeded as proprietor by his youngest son, William Ingram, who in turn was succeeded by his son, Sir Bruce Ingram (1877–1963) in 1900, who remained as editor until his death.

1860–1900: William and Charles Ingram

By 1863, ''The Illustrated London News'' was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, enormous figures in comparison to other British newspapers of the time. The death of Herbert and his eldest son left the company without a director and manager. Control passed to Ingram's widow Ann, and his friend Sir Edward William Watkin, who managed the business for 12 years. Once Ingram's two younger sons, William and Charles, were old enough, they took over as managing directors, although William took the lead. This was also a period of expansion and increased competition for the ''ILN''. As reading habits and the illustrated news market changed, the ''ILN'' bought or established a number of new publications, evolving from a single newspaper to a larger-scale publishing business. As with Herbert Ingram's purchases in the 1850s, this expansion was also an effective way of managing competition – dominating markets and buying out competing ventures. As with the acquisitions of the 1850s, several similar illustrated publications were established in this period by former employees of ''The Illustrated London News''. Serious competition for the ''ILN'' appeared in 1869, with the establishment of '' The Graphic'', a weekly illustrated paper founded by W. L. Thomas. Thomas was a former wood engraver for ''The Illustrated London News'', and brought his expertise in illustrated publishing to his new magazine. ''The Graphic'' was highly popular, particularly for its coverage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, and was well regarded among artists;

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

was a particular admirer. William Ingram became chief proprietor of '' The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' (est. 1874), and ''The Lady's Pictorial'', which may have been a later title of ''The Lady's Newspaper and Pictorial Times''. '' The Penny Illustrated Paper'', aimed at a working-class readership, was established by the news company shortly after Ingram's death in 1861 in response to the abolition of stamp and paper taxes, which made cheaper publications possible. ''The Penny Illustrated Paper'' ran until 1913. In 1893, the ''ILN'' established '' The Sketch'', a sister publication that covered lighter news and society events with the same focus on illustration. From this point, the name of the company changed to the Illustrated London News and Sketch Ltd. In 1899, ''ILN'' editor Clement Shorter left the paper to found his own publication, '' The Sphere'', which published its first issue on 27 January 1900. Ingram and ''The Illustrated London News'' responded by establishing a competing magazine, ''The Spear'', which appeared two days before ''The Sphere'' on 25 January 1900. The name was deliberately chosen to confuse and siphon off readers, and advertisements for ''The Sphere'' emphasised the difference between the magazines: "S-P-H-E-R-E… you may be offered something else you don't want" While editor of the ''ILN'', Clement Shorter had been instrumental in the establishment and publication of ''The Sketch''. In 1903, he established '' The Tatler'' as a similar sister publication for ''The Sphere'', with a similar focus on illustrated culture and society news. With the departure of Shorter, the role of editor of the ''ILN'' was taken over by Bruce Ingram, the 23-year-old grandson of the paper's founder.

1900–1963: Bruce Ingram

Bruce Ingram was editor of ''The Illustrated London News'' and (from 1905) ''The Sketch'', and ran the company for the next 63 years, presiding over some significant changes in the newspaper and the publishing business as a whole. Photographic and printing techniques were advancing in the later years of the 19th century, and ''The Illustrated London News'' began to introduce photos and artwork into its depictions of weekly events. From about 1890, ''The Illustrated London News'' made increasing use of photography. The tradition of graphic illustrations continued, however, until the end of World War I. Often, rough sketches of distant events with handwritten explanations were supplied by observers and then worked on by artists in London to produce polished end products for publication. This was particularly the case where popular subjects such as colonial or foreign military campaigns did not lend themselves to clear illustration using the limited camera technology of the period. By the 1920s and 1930s, the pictures that dominated each issue of the magazine were almost exclusively photographic, although artists might still be used to illustrate in pictorial form topics such as budgetary expenditure or the layout of coal mines. In 1928, a major business merger had ''Illustrated London News'' move to new headquarters at Inveresk House, 1 Aldwych, (also known as 364 Strand), London, where ''The Illustrated London News'' and ''The Sketch'' were united with six of their former competitors under the parent company, Illustrated News Ltd. As eight of the largest titles in illustrated news, these were newly dubbed the 'Great Eight' publications. ''The Illustrated London News'', the flagship publication, was supported by sister publications ''The Sketch'', ''The Sphere'', ''The Tatler'', ''The Graphic'', '' The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'', '' The Bystander'', and ''Eve''. With the exception of ''The Tatler'', these publications remained as part of Illustrated News Ltd. until their closure at various times in the 20th century. The centenary of ''The Illustrated London News'' in 1942 was muted due to wartime conditions, including restrictions on the use of paper. The occasion was marked in the paper with a set of specially commissioned colour photographs of the royal family, including the future Queen Elizabeth. By the time of his death in 1963, Ingram was a major figure in the newspaper industry, and the longest-standing editor of his day.

1963–present

In the postwar period, print publications were gradually displaced from their central position in reporting news events, and circulation began to fall for all the illustrated weeklies. Many of the Great Eight publications were closed down after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; ''The Sketch'', ''The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'', and ''The Sphere'' all ceased publication in these years. In 1961, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd was bought by International Thomson, headed by Roy Thomson, a Canadian newspaper mogul. ''The Sphere'' ceased publication in 1964, while ''The Tatler'' was sold in 1968 (it was later to be revived and relaunched in 1977). With circulation figures continuing to fall, ''The Illustrated London News'' switched from weekly to monthly publication in 1971, with a new focus on in-depth reporting and selective coverage of world events. This strategy continued into the late 1980s, when the paper reduced its frequency to four issues a year. In 1985, ''The Illustrated London News'' and the archives of the Great Eight publications were sold to Sea Containers, an international transport corporation headed by

James Sherwood James Blair Sherwood (August 8, 1933 – May 18, 2020) was an American-born, British-based businessman, and the founder of Sea Containers. Early life James Blair Sherwood was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, the son of William Sherwood, a paten ...

. Along with the Illustrated London News Group, Sea Containers operated the Orient Express and Great North-Eastern Railways, and a range of luxury hotels. As part of this activity, Illustrated London News Group launched a luxury travel and lifestyle magazine, ''Orient Express''. In 1994, publication of ''The Illustrated London News'' was reduced further to two issues a year, and the publishing activity of the Illustrated London News Group focused increasingly on the ''Orient Express'' magazine. After publishing its last Christmas number in 2001, ''The Illustrated London News'' was relaunched in 2003 under the editorship of Mark Palmer, which ran for one issue before finally ceasing publication for good. The Illustrated London News Group underwent a management buy-out in 2007, and was re-established as Illustrated London News Ltd. From 2007, it has continued its activity as an independent content and creative agency. In 2007, the former ''Orient Express'' magazine was relaunched as ''Sphere'', a luxury lifestyle and travel magazine. In addition to its independent publications, Illustrated London News Ltd now acts as a content agency for various other luxury and heritage organisations. Illustrated London News Ltd also manages and curates the newspaper and business archive of ''The Illustrated London News'' and the Great Eight publications, publishing short books and magazines of historical content from the Great Eight publication archives. In 2010, Gale digitised the entire back catalogue of ''The Illustrated London News'' (1842–2003), and in 2014 began digitalizing the remaining seven publications in the Great Eight. To mark the centenary of the First World War in July 2014, ILN Ltd launched illustratedfirstworldwar.com, a free historical resource funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The entire run of the Great Eight publications between 1914 and 1918 is available on this site. The company operates at 46–48 East Smithfield Street.

Collaborators

Nasser-ed-Din Shah's last visit to Britain - 3

The first generation of draughtsmen and engravers included Sir John Gilbert, Birket Foster, and George Cruikshank among the former, and

W. J. Linton William James Linton (December 7, 1812December 29, 1897) was an English-born American wood-engraver, landscape painter, political reformer and author of memoirs, novels, poetry and non-fiction. Birth and early years Born in Mile End, east Lon ...

, Ebenezer Landells, and George Thomas among the latter. Regular literary contributors included Douglas Jerrold, Richard Garnett, and

Shirley Brooks Charles William Shirley Brooks (29 April 1816 – 23 February 1874) was an English journalist and novelist. Born in London, he began his career in a solicitor's office. Shortly afterwards he took to writing, and contributed to various per ...

. Illustrators, artists, and photographers included Edward Duncan, Bruce Bairnsfather, H. M. Bateman, Edmund Blampied, Mabel Lucie Attwell,

E. H. Shepherd Ernest Howard Shepard OBE MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''Win ...

, Kate Greenaway, John Proctor,

W. Heath Robinson William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson contr ...

and his brother Charles Robinson, Rebecca Solomon,

George E. Studdy George Ernest Studdy (Devonport, 23 June 1878 – 25 July 1948) was a British commercial artist. He is best remembered for his creation of Bonzo the dog, a fictional character in the early 1920s that first appeared in ''The Sketch'' Magazine. ...

, David Wright, Melton Prior, William Simpson, Frederic Villiers, H. C. Seppings-Wright,

Myles Birket Foster Myles Birket Foster (4 February 1825 – 27 March 1899) was a British illustrator, watercolourist and engraver in the Victorian period. His name is also to be found as Myles Birkett Foster. Life and work Foster was born in North Shield ...

, Frank Reynolds, Lawson Wood, C. E. Turner, R. Caton Woodville Jr, A. Forestier,

Fortunino Matania Chevalier Fortunino Matania (16 April 1881 – 8 February 1963) was an Italian artist noted for his realistic portrayal of World War I trench warfare and of a wide range of historical subjects. Life Born in Naples, the son of artist Eduardo Mat ...

, Christina Broom, Louis Wain, J. Segrelles, and Frank Vizetelly. Writers and journalists included

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...

, George Augustus Sala, J. M. Barrie, Wilkie Collins, Rudyard Kipling,

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

, Joseph Conrad, Camilla Dufour Crosland, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,

Sir Charles Petrie Sir Charles Alexander Petrie, 3rd Baronet (28 September 1895 – 13 December 1977) was a British historian. Early life Born in Liverpool, he was the younger son of Sir Charles Petrie, 1st Baronet and his wife, Hannah. He was educated at th ...

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

, Arthur Bryant, and Tim Beaumont (who wrote about food).

Chief editors

*1842–1848:

Graham Law (2001)
Victorian Fiction Research Guide 29
, The University of Queensland. (assistant: John Timbs) *1848–1859: Charles Mackay *1860–1862: William J. Stewart *1863–1890: John Lash Latey *1891–1900: Clement King Shorter *1900–1963: Sir Bruce Ingram *1963–1965:

Hugh Ingram Hugh may refer to: * Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

*1965–1970: Timothy Green *1967–1970:

John Kisch John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

*1970–1994: James Bishop *1995–2003: Mark Palmer Note: sources are contradictory in some cases. An alternative listing for the period 1842–59 is 1842–46: F. W. N. Bayley; 1846–52: John Timbs; 1852–59: Charles Mackay

In fiction

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...

's '' Around the World in Eighty Days'', ''The Illustrated London News'' is referenced as reporting extensively on Phileas Fogg's travel around the world. The paper is mentioned as publishing Fogg's portrait, based on a photo obtained from the Reform Club of which Fogg was a member.

References

External links

''Illustrated London News''The Illustrated London News & Winston Churchill - UK Parliament Living HeritageThe Illustrated London News & the First Life Peers - UK Parliament Living Heritage

''The Illustrated London News'' picture archive
(retrieved Nov 2022)
Guide to the Leaf from ''Illustrated London News'' 1865 May 6
*Hathi Trust
''Illustrated London News''
fulltext

– lecture to the Japan Society by Terry Bennett in 2003
John Weedy's Collection of ''Illustrated London News''
Collector of ''Illustrated London News'' for more than 40 years {{DEFAULTSORT:Illustrated London News Newspapers published in London Newspapers established in 1842 Publications disestablished in 2003 Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom 1842 establishments in England 2003 disestablishments in England