Tower of London Gallery

London, GWR poster, 1938

Poster produced for Great Western Railway (GWR) to promote rail travel to London. The poster shows an aerial view of the Tower of London. Artwork by Frank Henry Mason (1876-1965), who was educated at HMS Conway and spent time at sea. He painted marine and coastal subjects and was involved in engineering and shipbuilding. He designed posters for several railway companies

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Tower of London with ravens circling above

The Tower of London viewed over the River Thames from South Bank, London, England.The ravens of the Tower of London are a group of captive Common Ravens which live in the Tower of London. The group of ravens at the Tower comprises at least seven individuals (six required, with a seventh in reserve). The presence of the ravens is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a superstition holds that If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.'Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite

The Re-cut Koh-i-noor Diamond, 1852

Engraving of the re-cut Koh-i-noor ('mountain of light') diamond, 1852. Previously owned by the Mogul emperors, the Persian Shahs and Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, it was presented to Queen Victoria by the East India Company in 1850. The diamond was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where various experts felt it displayed insufficient fire. It was decided therefore to recut the stone. This was undertaken by Guillaume Coster, over 38 days, in 1852 to produce a round diamond of 108 carats (shown in the image). In 1937 the diamond was placed in a crown to be worn by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at the Coronation of King George VI. The crown and diamond now reside at the Tower of London

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10219047