Der Themse-Tunnel in London
Paper Peepshow
ca. 1851 (published)
ca. 1851 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Thames Tunnel was one of the most popular subjects for British paper peepshows, which were produced throughout the period of its construction and beyond. The Tunnel’s construction started in 1825, and after various flood accidents and a long period of suspension of work between 1828 and 1835, the Tunnel finally opened to the public on 25 March 1843. It was received with great excitement both during and immediately after its construction, in Britain as well as abroad.
This German paper peepshow demonstrates the interest in the Thames Tunnel outside of UK. Bearing the title in four languages, it is targeted at an international market. Compared to its English counterparts that employ crudely-executed, repetitive imagery, this work is much more detailed and vivid in its representation of the Tunnel. For example, many foreign-looking visitors can be found on the front-face and the intermediary panels, including Chinese, Turks, Moors and Scots. While this portrayal might have taken some artistic license, it nevertheless gives a good indication of the Tunnel’s international renown.
The depiction of the souvenir stalls in the archways captures an important feature of the Tunnel. The Tunnel was not just a thoroughfare, but a brightly lit fairground with music, exhibitions and spectacles, as well as more than a hundred stalls selling souvenirs of various kinds. This paper peepshow shows the Tunnel as a bustling bazaar, the engineering miracle turned into a hub of consumerism.
The work forms a pair with Gestetner 177, which shows the Tunnel from the Wapping side. It also appears to have inspired Gestetner 277, a Tunnel paper peepshow produced in the 1860s.
This German paper peepshow demonstrates the interest in the Thames Tunnel outside of UK. Bearing the title in four languages, it is targeted at an international market. Compared to its English counterparts that employ crudely-executed, repetitive imagery, this work is much more detailed and vivid in its representation of the Tunnel. For example, many foreign-looking visitors can be found on the front-face and the intermediary panels, including Chinese, Turks, Moors and Scots. While this portrayal might have taken some artistic license, it nevertheless gives a good indication of the Tunnel’s international renown.
The depiction of the souvenir stalls in the archways captures an important feature of the Tunnel. The Tunnel was not just a thoroughfare, but a brightly lit fairground with music, exhibitions and spectacles, as well as more than a hundred stalls selling souvenirs of various kinds. This paper peepshow shows the Tunnel as a bustling bazaar, the engineering miracle turned into a hub of consumerism.
The work forms a pair with Gestetner 177, which shows the Tunnel from the Wapping side. It also appears to have inspired Gestetner 277, a Tunnel paper peepshow produced in the 1860s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Der Themse-Tunnel in London (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | paper |
| Brief description | Le Tunnel de la Tamise à Londres./ The Thames Tunnel at London./ Picturesque View taken from nature./ Il Tunnel della Tamigi in Londra./ Der Themse-Tunnel in London./Malerisches Perspectiv nach der Natur, G. W. Faber, ca. 1851 |
| Physical description | Accordion-style paper peepshow of the Thames Tunnel. 3 cut-out panels. 2 peep-holes. Hand-coloured lithograph. Expands to approximately 64 cm. Front-face: The title of the work in four languages and the publisher’s imprint. A view of the Rotherhithe entrance, with visitors on stairs and making their way into the Tunnel. The image is heightened with gum-arabic and bordered with an embossed strip. The two peep-holes consist of two circular openings in the middle. The front-face forms the lid of a cartonnage box containing the paper peepshow. Panels 1-3 and back panel: pedestrians of every nationality in the Tunnel archways, with many souvenir stalls in the middle of the Tunnel. |
| 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 in 2016. |
| Summary | The Thames Tunnel was one of the most popular subjects for British paper peepshows, which were produced throughout the period of its construction and beyond. The Tunnel’s construction started in 1825, and after various flood accidents and a long period of suspension of work between 1828 and 1835, the Tunnel finally opened to the public on 25 March 1843. It was received with great excitement both during and immediately after its construction, in Britain as well as abroad. This German paper peepshow demonstrates the interest in the Thames Tunnel outside of UK. Bearing the title in four languages, it is targeted at an international market. Compared to its English counterparts that employ crudely-executed, repetitive imagery, this work is much more detailed and vivid in its representation of the Tunnel. For example, many foreign-looking visitors can be found on the front-face and the intermediary panels, including Chinese, Turks, Moors and Scots. While this portrayal might have taken some artistic license, it nevertheless gives a good indication of the Tunnel’s international renown. The depiction of the souvenir stalls in the archways captures an important feature of the Tunnel. The Tunnel was not just a thoroughfare, but a brightly lit fairground with music, exhibitions and spectacles, as well as more than a hundred stalls selling souvenirs of various kinds. This paper peepshow shows the Tunnel as a bustling bazaar, the engineering miracle turned into a hub of consumerism. The work forms a pair with Gestetner 177, which shows the Tunnel from the Wapping side. It also appears to have inspired Gestetner 277, a Tunnel paper peepshow produced in the 1860s. |
| Bibliographic reference | R. Hyde, Paper Peepshows. The Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Collection (Woodbridge: The Antique Collectors' Club, 2015), cat. 176. |
| Other number | 38041016058786 - NAL barcode |
| Collection | |
| Library number | Gestetner 176 |
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| Record created | July 31, 2019 |
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