And the story....... (click on the image to enlarge)
From "The Illustrated Police News", June 8th 1878.
"The Illustrated Police News , Law Courts and Weekly Record was founded in 1864. It was the first, and most long-lasting, Saturday penny newspaper that combined two hugely popular Victorian genres: the police newspaper and the illustrated journal.
Its founder, George Purkess, was a London publisher who already specialised in the publication of cheap "true stories" of crime, accidents and domestic disaster. The subject matter of his newspaper was very similar. It collated sensational or unusual stories, often drawn from the London Police Courts, but also reports of mishap from elsewhere in Britain and the world. While repeatedly emphasising the "true" nature of the stories, it was their entertainment and curiosity value that was crucial to the success of the News.".....19th Century British Library Newspapers (it's a subscription service....and one of the fringe benefits of working at a UK university!)
On the same page there's stories of:
- Cruelty to a sheep
- A determined attempt to commit suicide
- A dangerous lunatic
- Two children drowned in a perambulator and
- A bull and lion fight
....so Daily Mail, eat your heart out!
PS....I wonder whether there's still any visual sign of the funeral in the brickwork of the Duke of Wellington, because it's still there.....I feel a lunchtime walk coming on!
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