The Pictorial Press Part 11

'1. The Cas.h.i.+re of the South Sea Company

2. The Horse of an Accomptant to the South Sea Company

3. The Correspondent of the Author of the _London Journal_

4. A Stock Jobber, or Exchange Broker, whipt by the Common Hangman

5. Belzebub prompting a Director of the South Sea

6. Satan prompting the same Director in t'other Ear

7. The Worm of Conscience fastens on the above said Director

8. The Cup of Indignation

9. A Director's Sacrifice, which is a Villanous Heart

10. A Director in the Pillory

11. The Superscription over the pillory'd Director paraphras'd from the prophet Ezekiel. Chap.

XXII. Ver. 12, 13, and Chap. XXIII. Ver. 25, 26, 27

12. A Director decyphered by the Knave of Diamonds Hanged

13. A Director wafting to h.e.l.l with the tide

14. Lucifers Row-Barge for first rate pa.s.sengers

15. Moloch sounds his trumpet for Joy of meeting with a good Fare

16. Belial playing on the Violin to the Director

17. Mammon takes a trip at Helm for him

18. The South Sea

19. Lucifer rowing his own Barge

20. The Entrance into h.e.l.l, represented by the Mouth of the Leviathan, or great Whale, belching flames of sulphurous fire.']

There was a total eclipse of the sun in 1724, which appears to have excited much attention, and several notices of it occur in the newspapers. Parker's _London News_ gives a long account, with a woodcut, which I have copied. This paper was published three times a-week--on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In the number for Monday, May 4th, 1724, is the woodcut referred to, together with the following explanation:--

'Of the Eclipse of the Sun which will happen in the Afternoon on Monday, the 11th of this inst. May 1724.

'The Sun, the glorious Lamp of the Universe, being a large round Body of Light, is fixt in the Centre of the _Creation_; so that all parts thereof might be partakers of his vivifying Rays, which otherwise would be shut up in perpetual Darkness.

'The Earth is a dark round Ball, which turneth round on its own Axis, from West to East, once in twenty-four Hours Time, causing thereby Day and Night, also at the same Time, the Earth with the Moon, going round in its...o...b..t in 365 Days and some Hours, const.i.tuting thereby the true Length of our Year.

'The Moon is likewise a round dark Ball, void of Light, and circ.u.mvolveth the Earth once a Month; so that whenever she pa.s.seth in her Orbit, in a direct line between the Sun and Earth, she Eclipses the Earth not the Sun, by depriving us of a Sight thereof; And whenever the Earth happens to be between the Sun and Moon, at such times the Earth obstructs the Light of the Sun from the Moon, and then the Moon is Eclipsed by the dark Body of the Earth.

'Now to prevent any Consternation, which People, through Ignorance may fall under, by means of that great Eclipse which is now approaching; at which time it will be so dark, that the stars, (if the Air be clear) will be seen; and the Planets Mars, Venus, and the seldom to be seen Mercury, will appear a little above the Sun, towards the South; also Venus a little higher to the Left of Mercury, and Mars in the S.S.W.

Parts of the Heavens; The several Appearances of this Eclipse will be according to the Types before inserted.

'The beginning of this Eclipse, according to the nicest Computation of the most Judicious, will happen at 39 Minutes past 5 in the Afternoon when the Limb of the Moon will just touch the Sun's Limb, as it is represented by the Uppermost Figure to the Right Hand. At 44 Minutes after 5 it will be enter'd the disk, and so much darkened as the 2d Scheme on the Right Hand shews. At 48 Minutes past 5 as the 3d denotes.

At 53 Minutes past 5 as the 4th shews. At 58 Minutes after 5, as the 5th represents. At 3 Minutes past 6, as in the 6th Scheme. At 7 Minutes after 6, as in the 7th. At 12 Minutes past 6, as is shewn by the 8th Figure. At 17 Minutes past 6, as the 10th Figure shews. At 26 Minutes past 6, as the next succeeding Scheme denotes, beginning always to number from the Right Hand. At 31 Minutes after 6, so much of the Sun's Body will be darkened, as the 12th represents: and at 36 past 6, will be the greatest darkness, when only a small thread of Light will be seen at _London_, on the upper part of the _Sun_ as the 13th Scheme informs; but to all the Southern parts of the Kingdom, it will be totally darkened.

'After this the _Sun_ will begin to shew its Light, which will appear first on the lower part of that Glorious Body, towards the Right Hand; and the darkness will gradually lessen, as the several Figures represent, till the Sun's Body be perfectly clear of the Shadow, which will be at 27 Minutes past 7 a-clock that Afternoon.'

This description is reprinted, together with the woodcut, in the same paper for May 8th, and to it is added the following:--'Directions for the better viewing the Eclipse that will happen on Monday next'--'Take a Piece of Common window Gla.s.s and hold it over a Candle, so that the Flame of the Candle may make it black, through which look upon the Sun, and you will behold the _Eclipse_ without Danger to the Eyes.'

Or thus

Take a Piece of thick writing Paper, and p.r.i.c.k a hole in it with a fine Needle, through which the _Eclipse_ may be seen.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. FROM 'PARKER'S LONDON NEWS,' 1724.]

The same paper (May 8th, 1724) contains some advertis.e.m.e.nts about the eclipse, which seems to have been for the moment the absorbing topic, and was apparently made the vehicle for advertising the shops of different tradesmen. The notices were published ostensibly 'to lessen the consternation of ignorant people,' but it is evident the advertisers had an eye to business. 'An exact curious Draft' was to be 'given _gratis_ at Mr. Garway's original shop, the Sign of the Practical Scheme at the Royal Exchange Gate, on Cornhill Side. Up one pair of Stairs at the Sign of the celebrated Anodyne Necklace for Childrens' Teeth, next the Rose Tavern without Temple Bar. At Mr. Gregg's Bookseller, next to Northumberland House, at Charing Cross; and at R. Bradshaw's the author's Servant, at his House, next to the King's Head, in Crown Street, right against Sutton Street End, just by Soho Square. Note, it will not be given to any Boy or Girl.'

The cut and description are again reprinted in the number for May 11th, where, amongst other items of news, is the following:--'His Royal Highness went last Monday to Richmond, as did also the Right Hon. the Lord _Chancellor_, Judge Fortescue, and other persons of note; some of the Judges went to Hampton Court, and other gentlemen of Learning and Curiosity to more distant places, to make their Observations, as 'tis said, upon the great Eclipse of the Sun that happen'd in the Evening, and exactly answered the _Calculations_ made of it by our Astronomers.'

In the number for May 18th are accounts of how the eclipse was observed in the country. It is stated:--'We are advised from the Isle of Wight that the Eclipse on the 11th instant, which was Total, and caused very great Consternation there lasted about a Minute and a half; but that the chief sufferers thereby were the gentry of that Island, who by the great concourse of Strangers to their Houses, had but very little French Claret left upon their hands; But the comfort is, they have frequent opportunities of running some more.'

_Parker's London News_ blended amus.e.m.e.nt with instruction. The following items of news occur in the same number that contains the account of the eclipse, and show how our forefathers were entertained by the newspapers 160 years ago:--'The Papers of the week, from the highest to the lowest rank have killed one Sir Nicholas Raymond in the Isle of Wight; but as no such knight ever inhabited therein, we can impute it to nothing but want of home news.'

'Last Sat.u.r.day Night, two Servant Maids at a Snuff Warehouse, at Mile End took _so much Snuff_, that they quarrell'd, and one of them stabbed the other in so many places with an Iron Scuer, that 'twas thought she could not live. The other therefore, was instantly apprehended and committed.'

'Last week an Apothecary was attacked by two Highwaymen, between Winchester and Southampton, who robbed him of his money, and finding two Vials of Purging Potions in his Pocket, that he was carrying to a _Patient_, they were so inhuman as to force him to swallow 'em himself.'

'Last Sunday Night, Sir Basil Firebra.s.s, noted for his humanity to young Vintners, whom he first set up, and afterwards upon Default of payment took execution against 'em, departed this life.'

_The Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer_ for May 9th, 1724, contains an account and ill.u.s.tration of the same eclipse that is described in _Parker's London News_. The ill.u.s.tration is a diagram, and is called, 'A Representation of a Solar Eclipse. The Time of the Beginning, Middle, and End of the Eclipse and the continuance of Darkness, together with its Appearance at London and Bristol.'

The celebrated _Grub Street Journal_ now comes upon the scene; and we find it not only surpa.s.sing its contemporaries in wit and satire, but it also comes out as an ill.u.s.trated paper. In No. 43, for Oct. 29th, 1730, a whole page is occupied with woodcuts of the arms of the City Companies, which are reprinted about the time of Lord Mayor's Day in succeeding years. In No. 48 there is a very well-executed copperplate portrait, presumably of the Lord Mayor of London. As it is printed on the same page with type (involving two printings), and the journal was sold for twopence, it shows some enterprise for the year 1730. On the front page of No. 95, for Oct. 28th, 1731, there are very rude woodcuts of the Lord Mayor's procession, surrounded by the arms of the City Companies before referred to. No. 147 has a curious copperplate at the head of an article ent.i.tled, '_The Art and Mystery of Printing Emblematically Displayed_.' The engraving represents human figures with animals' heads at work in a printing-office. An a.s.s is setting up the types, a pig is using the inking-b.a.l.l.s, a horse is acting as pressman, a sheep is arranging the printed sheets, while a two-faced man and a many-horned devil are watching them all. This, like the portrait of the Lord Mayor, is printed on the same page with the type, with no printing at the back of the engraving. The article is a satirical conversation between certain printers' devils, and is continued in the next number, where the engraving is also reproduced. The _Grub Street Journal_ is the first example I have met with of a newspaper employing the expensive process of copperplate engraving for ill.u.s.trations, and printing the plate in the body of its pages. It was probably thought to be too costly, for we find the conductors recurring to the almost extinct art of wood-engraving. In the number for Oct. 25th, 1733, there is a coa.r.s.ely executed woodcut heading a satirical allegory, ent.i.tled, _The Art of Tr.i.m.m.i.n.g Emblematically Displayed_.

The _Daily Post_ of March 29th, 1740, is interesting as being an early example of a daily paper attempting to ill.u.s.trate current events. The _Daily Post_ consisted of a single leaf, with the page divided into three columns. In the number referred to there is a long account of Admiral Vernon's attack on Porto Bello, ill.u.s.trated with a woodcut, which the writer says will give the reader a clearer idea of the position of the town, castle, and s.h.i.+ps engaged. The narrative is introduced by the editor in these words:--'The following is a letter from a gentleman on board the Burford at Porto Bello to his friend at Newcastle, which, as it contains a more particular account of Admiral Vernon's glorious achievement at that place than any yet published here, we thought we could not in justice to the Bravery of our English Officers and Sailors, refuse it a Place in our Paper.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: ADMIRAL VERNON'S ATTACK ON PORTO BELLO. FROM THE 'DAILY POST,' 1740.

A. The Iron Castle on the North side of the Mouth of the Harbour with 100 Guns.

B. The Castle Gloria, with 120 Guns, on the South side of the Harbour, and a Mile from the Iron Castle.

C. The Fort of Hieronymo, with 20 Guns.

D. The Town of Porto Bello lying along the Extremity of the Harbour.

E. The station of the Spanish s.h.i.+ps.

F. The Hampton-Courts place of Action, Commodore Brown.