'the Illustrated London News'
the Flagship of British Newsmagazines
'The Illustrated London News' was the one of the flagships of British newmagazines. It was similar in size, layout, contents and appearance to both 'The Sphere' and 'the Graphic' both competitors on the British market, as well as to the French magazine 'L'Illustration', the German 'Illustrirte Zeitung' and the Italian 'Illustrazione Italiana'. The paper was heavy glossy stock and the printing quality outstanding. Extensive use of drawn illustrations was made throughout the war, though more so in the first several years of fighting. Much like 'L'Illustration' the outside cover was meant mainly as protection and was given over to advertising. The inside cover was the main attraction and almost invariably featured work by famous British and French war-artists such as R. Caton Woodville, L. Sabattier, Georges Scott, A.C. Michael, Koekoek and many more. Inside were several two-page spreads often printed in sepia tone. As an interesting and original feature, many rough sketches by old-campaigners and war-illustrators such as H.C. Seppings-Wright and Frederic Villiers were printed which gave the accompanying articles a very immediate and dramatic feel, as if events were so important that the publishers did not want to deprive their public of the latest breaking news on the war front.
*see also full page scans on the siege of Antwerp
typical coverpages