Collection
Discover our collection of objects.
Engraving of the Rotherhithe Entrance to the Thames Tunnel with Annotation
This is an engraving of an image of the Rotherhithe entrance to the Thames Tunnel, with a handwritten inscription: ‘Thames Tunnel Invention + under the construction of Sir Isambart Brunel F.R.S.—’. The engraving was produced by John Shury, a printer working from premises at 16 Charterhouse Street; Shury also produced letterheads with the same image, …
SS Great Eastern – View of the Ship’s Launch
Longitudinal view of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58, as it appeared at the time of its launch in 1858. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 105.
SS Great Eastern – Views of Screw Propellers
Various views of screw propellers produced for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 163.
SS Great Eastern – Views of Iron Segments
Various views of iron segments used in constructing Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 109.
SS Great Eastern Sail Drafts – Longitudinal View
Longitudinal view of the sail drafts of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 104.
SS Great Eastern Sail Drafts – Transverse View
Transverse view of the sail drafts of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 103.
SS Great Eastern Cross-Sections through Boiler Rooms and Screw Engines
Cross-section through the screw engines and boiler rooms of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 102.
SS Great Eastern Cross-Section through the Paddle Engine Room
Cross-section through the paddle engine room of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 3, plate 101.
SS Great Eastern Enlarged Body Plan
‘Enlarged Body Plan’ of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, built 1854-58. Print taken from John Scott Russell, The Modern System of Naval Architecture (London: Day & Son, 1864), vol. 2, plate 40.
Lithograph of the Rotherhithe entrance to the Thames Tunnel
This lithograph image of the Thames Tunnel was produced in 1836 by Charles Joseph Hullmandel. In 1836, work on the Tunnel had just restarted, following confirmation of a loan from the British government to fund the work. In that period, it was still hoped that large, smooth descents would be built to enable horses and …
“Strong Symptom’s of Water on the Brain” Thames Tunnel Flooding Cartoon
This caricature comes from a book originally printed as a serial in 1828-9, entitled Pierce Egan’s Finish to the Life in London. This was a sequel to the highly popular Life in London, a semi-novelistic work depicting the highs and lows of London life through the adventures of three men — Tom, Jerry, and Logic. …
Print of the Wapping Entrance of the Thames Tunnel
Hand-coloured print of the Wapping entrance to the Thames Tunnel. Visible at the top of the image are paintings by I.B. Henkin, installed in 1843, of a range of subjects including Place de la Concorde in Paris; Windsor Castle; and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is unclear why the left-hand side of the Tunnel …
Print of the Rotherhithe Entrance of the Thames Tunnel
Hand-coloured engraving of the Rotherhithe entrance of the Thames Tunnel (built 1841). Produced for Dugdale’s England and Wales Delineated, though possibly sold as a standalone print.
Print of the “Diving-Bell Used in the Construction of the Thames Tunnel”
Hand-coloured print of the operation of diving bell used to assess damage to the Thames Tunnel following flooding in the late 1820s, taken from Edward Walford, Old and New London: A Narrative of its History, its People, and its Places (London: Cassell and Company Limited, 1893). For a contemporary view of the operation of the …
Circular letter seeking private funding for the Thames Tunnel
This is a part-lithograph, part-manuscript document, sent by the Thames Tunnel Company (TTC) to prospective investors to sound out possible private funding. One of an unknown number of copies sent over at least a two month period in mid-1828, this letter is evidence of the TTC’s ever more desperate attempts to raise private capital during …
Print of the Thames Tunnel, and River Thames above
Hand-coloured engraving, showing the river at the top with boats and a church; and below it the double arches of the Thames Tunnel, with horses, carts and pedestrians. As such, the print must predate the opening of the Tunnel, which was never able to accommodate horses and carts. At the bottom, the legend “The Thames …
A View of the Western Archway of the Thames Tunnel
This print shows two pairs of men either side, in conversation in the tunnel, three of whom are wearing red jackets, one other in a black coat. The man in the black coat, wearing glasses and holding a paper and pen, appears to be Marc Brunel. It is likely the other figures represent other engineers …
Cardboard Model of the Thames Tunnel and Tunnelling Shield
Two-part cardboard model depicting the tunnelling shield used to dig the Thames Tunnel between 1825-43; formerly owned by Marc Brunel
Print of Gottlob Wünderlich’s Thames Tunnel Stall
Hand-coloured print, showing Gottlob Wünderlich’s stall, identifiable by the text on the advert in front of the table in the print (‘Gottlob Wünderlich aus Leipzig. Hier spricht man [sic] Deutsch’, ‘Gottlob Wünderlich from Leipzig. German spoken here’). Appears to show the Rotherhithe entrance of the Thames Tunnel.
“Thames Tunnel” foreign-language print by William Tombleson
This is a steeplate engraving of the Thames Tunnel, with a border made up of doric columns supported by Atlas (?) on either side, a boat with British flag and Britannia sailing along the top edge, and motifs of oars. The print, produced a decade before the Thames Tunnel was opened in 1843, offers an …
“Thames Tunnel” hand-coloured print by William Tombleson
Printed image of the Thames Tunnel, done in steelplate engraving, with a border made up of doric columns supported by Atlas (?) on either side, a boat with British flag and Britannia sailing along the top edge, motifs of oars, and the words “Thames Tunnel” along the bottom. The central image has been hand-coloured. Below …
French Revolutionary Banknote
Assignat of 25 sols, printed following the French Revolution of 1789
I.K. Brunel by the Launching Chains of the SS Great Eastern
Albumen print by Robert Howlett (1831-58)
“Memoir of Sir Marc Isambard Brunel” by Richard Beamish
Copy of Richard Beamish’s Memoir of the Life of Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1866), with a number of manuscript annotations on the flyleaves documenting the Brunel family’s genealogy. The volume also contains a manuscript dedication from John Kennedy (later Rev. John Kennedy, headmaster of Aldenham School, Herts., 1877-99) to Philip Edward Lee, dated 1865 on …
Printed sheet from Tunnel guidebook
If you’d like a print of the artwork displayed above, you can purchase one from the ArtUK online shop.
Map showing the progress of the Tunnel
If you’d like a print of the artwork displayed above, you can purchase one from the ArtUK online shop.
Lithographic sheet showing progress of the Tunnel
If you’d like a print of the artwork displayed above, you can purchase one from the ArtUK online shop.
Print of one frame of the Shield
This engraving was done by William Warrington, who worked closely with the Thames Tunnel Company both as an engraver and printer of some of the tunnel guide books. It is most likely a copperplate engraving, and reproduces a drawing done by Richard Beamish, one of Brunel’s engineers, which can be seen here. Both pieces feature …
Polyorama Panoptique et Diagraphique pour Dessiner d’Après Nature
When placed in a special viewer with the lid closed, The Thames view is seen; when the lid is raised and light enters the box, the front image disappears, revealing the hidden image behind. In the Spooner Protean View presented by the Art Fund the tunnel
Spooner’s Protean View No. 28: The Thames Tunnel
Spooner produced several examples although little is known about the artist. This work depicts a view of The Thames Tunnel which changes into the Coronation Procession from Buckingham Palace when the lithograph is lit from behind.
Tunnel guide French
Illustrated French-language guidebook to the Thames Tunnel Works, printed 1839.
Thames Tunnel Stereoscopic Peepshow
A contemporary peepshow circa 1852, with a vista of the Tunnel
Marc Brunel mezzotint
This print depicts Marc Brunel early in his career in Britain, before work had begun on the Thames Tunnel. The print was published on 30 March 1815 by Charles Turner (1773-1857), a London engraver and publisher. The print reproduces a painting of Brunel done in 1812-13 by James Northcote which was first exhibited in 1814, …
German lithographic print of the Thames Tunnel
Two-colour German lithographic print of twelve views of the Thames Tunnel with descriptive text, printed in March 1828 by Rudolph Schlicht in Mannheim and entitled 'Drawings of the Road linking Rotherhithe to Wapping in London under the Thames, called The Tunnel'.