Drawing
circa 1900 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painted illustration by Sydney Higham, created for publication in 'The Penny Illustrated Paper'. It shows a firework display at Crystal Palace, sketched from the Royal Balcony, with crowds gathered to watch 'The Niagara of Fire', organised as part of 'Brocks Benefit at Crystal Palace'. A head and shoulders' profile painting of Charles Thomas Brock (1843-1881) appears in the top left hand corner.
John Brock established the Brock Company in Islingon in 1798 as a family-run business. It soon established a reputation for producing innovative fireworks, and rose in prominance as a result of the increasing demand for public and private displays. By the nineteenth century the expanded company was famous for staging spectacular displays, with set pieces including sea battle scenes and historic events extending to hundreds of feet. The company kept pace with new developments and the brilliance and colour of the fireworks produced by C.T. Brock were said to defy competition. Huge crowds gathered to watch the displays known as Brock's Benefits that he staged at The Crystal Palace in Sydenham several times a month during the summer season, from 1865 until 1936, when an electrical fault resulted in the huge fire that destroyed the palace.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
John Brock established the Brock Company in Islingon in 1798 as a family-run business. It soon established a reputation for producing innovative fireworks, and rose in prominance as a result of the increasing demand for public and private displays. By the nineteenth century the expanded company was famous for staging spectacular displays, with set pieces including sea battle scenes and historic events extending to hundreds of feet. The company kept pace with new developments and the brilliance and colour of the fireworks produced by C.T. Brock were said to defy competition. Huge crowds gathered to watch the displays known as Brock's Benefits that he staged at The Crystal Palace in Sydenham several times a month during the summer season, from 1865 until 1936, when an electrical fault resulted in the huge fire that destroyed the palace.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | painted on drawing board |
| Brief description | Painted illustration created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably in 'The Penny Illustrated Paper'. The illustration shows a firework display at Crystal Palace. It is not dated but has been signed by the artist, Sydney Higham, in the bottom right hand corner. Given by Sir William Ingram in 1914. |
| Physical description | Painted illustration created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably in 'The Penny Illustrated Paper'. The illustration shows a firework display at Crystal Palace as sketched from the Royal Balcony. Crowds of men and women have gathered to watch 'The Niagara of Fire' which has been organised as part of 'Brocks Benefit at Crystal Palace'. A head and shoulders, profile painting of Mr. C.T. Brock has been included in the top left hand corner of the image. The painting is not dated but has been signed by the artist, Sydney Higham, in the bottom right hand corner. Given by Sir William Ingram in 1914. |
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| Credit line | Given by Sir William Ingram |
| Object history | Sir William Ingram (27 October 1847 – 18 December 1924) was a Liberal politician who was elected to, and sat, in the House of Commons on three occassions between 1878 and 1895. He was also the Managing Director of The Illustrated London News from the late 1870s until 1900 and became the proprietor of a number of additional publications including The Sketch and The English Illustrated Magazine. The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. Founded by Sir William Ingram’s father, Herbert Ingram, in 1842 the first edition was sold on 14th May 1842 at a cost of sixpence per copy. Building from an original circulation of 26,000 to in excess of 300,000 at its peak, The Illustrated London News remained in print until 2003 and commissioned illustrations from many of the leading artists of the late nineteenth century. Photographs were used alongside illustrations from the late 19th century onwards but illustrations were a major feature of paper until after the end of the First World War. |
| Historical context | This sketch was one of a group of prints and pencil and pen and ink sketches donated to the museum in 1914 by Sir William Ingram (1847–1924). Part of this collection was originally donated to the Prints and Drawings Department with the majority later passing to the Theatre and Performance Department. The full collection includes work by a variety of artists amongst whom are: A. J Finberg; Ralph Cleaver; F.V.Poole and Rossi Ashton. Though not all the publications for which they were created are identified the majority of the sketches were commissioned for, and appeared in, The Illustrated London News, The English Illustrated Magazine or The Sketch. Sir William Ingram became the proprietor of The Illustrated London News in the mid to late 1870s and remained in post until circa 1900 when he was succeeded by his he was succeeded by his son, Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877–1963). He also became the proprietor of The Sketch amongst other papers in which capacity he gave commissions to many leading artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. |
| Subjects depicted | |
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| Association | |
| Summary | Painted illustration by Sydney Higham, created for publication in 'The Penny Illustrated Paper'. It shows a firework display at Crystal Palace, sketched from the Royal Balcony, with crowds gathered to watch 'The Niagara of Fire', organised as part of 'Brocks Benefit at Crystal Palace'. A head and shoulders' profile painting of Charles Thomas Brock (1843-1881) appears in the top left hand corner. John Brock established the Brock Company in Islingon in 1798 as a family-run business. It soon established a reputation for producing innovative fireworks, and rose in prominance as a result of the increasing demand for public and private displays. By the nineteenth century the expanded company was famous for staging spectacular displays, with set pieces including sea battle scenes and historic events extending to hundreds of feet. The company kept pace with new developments and the brilliance and colour of the fireworks produced by C.T. Brock were said to defy competition. Huge crowds gathered to watch the displays known as Brock's Benefits that he staged at The Crystal Palace in Sydenham several times a month during the summer season, from 1865 until 1936, when an electrical fault resulted in the huge fire that destroyed the palace. This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914. |
| Bibliographic reference | Fruther information about about the Brock Company and The Crystal Palace Displays can be found in 'The Chemistry of Fireworks' By Michael S. Russell, (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2008). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.399-2011 |
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| Record created | February 23, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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