A View of the Tunnel under the Thames, as it will appear when completed
Paper Peepshow
1828 (published)
1828 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Thames Tunnel was one of the most popular British subjects for paper peepshows, and its enduring association with this kind of optical device can still be judged from one of its modern names, the ‘tunnel book’ (this term is most often used in the United States). The paper peepshow’s accordion shape would suggest a natural link to the form of the Tunnel, as the expanded bellows effectively create the depth impression that echoes the Tunnel archways. When we look through the peep-hole of this work, we can see pedestrians and vehicles promenading in the bright underground passage.
The construction of the Thames Tunnel connecting Wapping on the north with Rotherhithe on the south was authorised in 1824. Work began on the Rotherhithe shaft in March 1825, and the first Thames Tunnel paper peepshow appeared as early as 16 June of the same year. In this paper peepshow, although the publisher uses stereotypical contents for the cut-out panels, he attempts to demonstrate the contemporaneity of his product by including an illustration of the first major flooding in the Tunnel that happened on 18 May 1827, when almost half of the Tunnel was built. In making their escape, the resident engineer Isambard Brunel and his assistant Richard Beamish barely made it in time to reach the top of the stairs. Although the work had to be suspended for a short period after the accident, the inundation did not make any victims and the brickwork of the Tunnel remained sound.
Like the Great Exhibition, the Thames Tunnel generated great public excitement both at home and abroad, and the paper peepshow is but one part of the huge souvenir market this engineering feat gave rise to. The publisher of this paper peepshow appears to have taken advantage of this market, as he was producing the same product for over a year (Gestetner 213, see references). Like many others, this work was published before the Tunnel was completed, and depicts the Tunnel as imagined by the publisher. The horse-drawn carriages shown in the paper peepshow, for instance, were never able to enter the Tunnel in reality, as a ramp was never built.
The construction of the Thames Tunnel connecting Wapping on the north with Rotherhithe on the south was authorised in 1824. Work began on the Rotherhithe shaft in March 1825, and the first Thames Tunnel paper peepshow appeared as early as 16 June of the same year. In this paper peepshow, although the publisher uses stereotypical contents for the cut-out panels, he attempts to demonstrate the contemporaneity of his product by including an illustration of the first major flooding in the Tunnel that happened on 18 May 1827, when almost half of the Tunnel was built. In making their escape, the resident engineer Isambard Brunel and his assistant Richard Beamish barely made it in time to reach the top of the stairs. Although the work had to be suspended for a short period after the accident, the inundation did not make any victims and the brickwork of the Tunnel remained sound.
Like the Great Exhibition, the Thames Tunnel generated great public excitement both at home and abroad, and the paper peepshow is but one part of the huge souvenir market this engineering feat gave rise to. The publisher of this paper peepshow appears to have taken advantage of this market, as he was producing the same product for over a year (Gestetner 213, see references). Like many others, this work was published before the Tunnel was completed, and depicts the Tunnel as imagined by the publisher. The horse-drawn carriages shown in the paper peepshow, for instance, were never able to enter the Tunnel in reality, as a ramp was never built.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A View of the Tunnel under the Thames, as it will appear when completed (published title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | A View of the Tunnel under the Thames, as it will appear when completed, Gouyn, S. F., 1828 |
| Physical description | Accordion-style paper peepshow of the Thames Tunnel imagined by the publisher as it would appear when completed. 5 cut-out panels. 1 peep-hole. Hand-coloured aquatint. In a slipcase. Expands to approximately 62 cm. Slipcase: a label on a brown background. The label carries the title ‘A View of the Tunnel under the Thames’ and the price and published date of February 1828. It also has an oval vignette of a view across the Thames and a cross section of the Tunnel. The vignette is very similar to the shutter image in Gestetner 198 and Gestetner 199, (see references). On the reverse side is the vendor’s label that reads ‘W. & A. Essex, Bazaar, Nos. 333, 4, 5, & 6 Soho Square.’ Front-face: the title, statistics of the Tunnel, the publisher’s imprint. A large oval peep-hole surrounding shutters. The upper shutter shows a view across the Thames, and the lower shutter illustrates the inundation of the Tunnel on 18 May 1827. The text below the shutters explains the image. Ties attached near the top. Panel 1: men and women descending the staircases on either side, a man in the left archway. Panel 2: empty left archway, an equestrian riding past a woman in the right archway. Panel 3: an equestrian riding in the left archway, a cart in the right archway. Panel 4 and 5: a coach in the left archway, a cab in the right archway. Back panel: a coach in the left archway, a wagon in the right archway. Ties attached near the top. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Accepted under the Cultural Gifts Scheme by HM Government from the collections of Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016. |
| Object history | Part of the Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Collection, collected over 30 years and given to the V&A Museum through the government's Cultural Gift Scheme, 2016. |
| Summary | The Thames Tunnel was one of the most popular British subjects for paper peepshows, and its enduring association with this kind of optical device can still be judged from one of its modern names, the ‘tunnel book’ (this term is most often used in the United States). The paper peepshow’s accordion shape would suggest a natural link to the form of the Tunnel, as the expanded bellows effectively create the depth impression that echoes the Tunnel archways. When we look through the peep-hole of this work, we can see pedestrians and vehicles promenading in the bright underground passage. The construction of the Thames Tunnel connecting Wapping on the north with Rotherhithe on the south was authorised in 1824. Work began on the Rotherhithe shaft in March 1825, and the first Thames Tunnel paper peepshow appeared as early as 16 June of the same year. In this paper peepshow, although the publisher uses stereotypical contents for the cut-out panels, he attempts to demonstrate the contemporaneity of his product by including an illustration of the first major flooding in the Tunnel that happened on 18 May 1827, when almost half of the Tunnel was built. In making their escape, the resident engineer Isambard Brunel and his assistant Richard Beamish barely made it in time to reach the top of the stairs. Although the work had to be suspended for a short period after the accident, the inundation did not make any victims and the brickwork of the Tunnel remained sound. Like the Great Exhibition, the Thames Tunnel generated great public excitement both at home and abroad, and the paper peepshow is but one part of the huge souvenir market this engineering feat gave rise to. The publisher of this paper peepshow appears to have taken advantage of this market, as he was producing the same product for over a year (Gestetner 213, see references). Like many others, this work was published before the Tunnel was completed, and depicts the Tunnel as imagined by the publisher. The horse-drawn carriages shown in the paper peepshow, for instance, were never able to enter the Tunnel in reality, as a ramp was never built. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 38041016058984 - NAL barcode |
| Collection | |
| Library number | Gestetner 208 |
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| Record created | August 29, 2018 |
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