By Nangamso Mabindla
29 July2008

AN exhibition of prints from the Illustrated London News is on at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery.

The exhibition, the first of its kind in South Africa, is presented by Pat Mantsivi and introduces East London to one of the most successful journals of all time.

Illustrations in its library include drawings of the slavery of children in the British coal mines; the formation of the International Red Cross; the reforms in nursing, hospital administration and hygiene pioneered by Florence Nightingale; the Great Exhibition of 1851; and art engravings from the Royal Academy.

The news journal also covered the Crimean War and the development of electricity and internal combustion engines.

Gallery curator Leon du Preez said East London art lovers would not be able to buy the works on show, although it was possible to order prints through Mantsivi.

Mantsivi said she bought bound editions of the journal in Cape Town some years ago. “I’ve had the editions for four years and, after discovering that the Victoria and Albert Museum in England hosts an annual exhibition of this kind, I decided to bring it to East London.”

She said the art was very original, and included images of the first fire engine, drawings of a cricket match between England and Australia and other items of interest.

“I hope that East Londoners respond to this wonderful exhibition so that we can have another one next year.”

According to the Illustrated London News Limited website, the magazine - the world’s first pictorial newspaper - was launched by Herbert Ingram in 1842. With a commitment to accurate visual news reporting, it launched the world’s first colour supplement in 1855. In its heyday its circulation was 200 000, triple that of The Times of London at the time.

The Illustrated London News Picture Library is one of the most important magazine archives in the United Kingdom and one of the richest sources of 19th and 20th century history.

The magazine was published weekly until 1971, when it became a monthly. From 1989, it was published bi-monthly, then quarterly. The magazine is no longer being published, but Illustrated London News Limited produces in-house magazines for various clients and provides related consultancy services.

The exhibition closes on Saturday, 9 August. For more information, contact the gallery on 043 722 4044.