Reform and Opposition in the 1830s as viewed through the Illustrated Press of Ireland and Britain

On 1 September 1831 the Zoological Gardens in Dublin’s Phoenix Park opened to the public and those relatively few members of the Irish population who could afford the price of sixpence entrance fee were offered a look at live exotic animals from foreign places. With the exception of the rare few who had experienced African wildlife safaris, most Irishmen and women of the early nineteenth century had only ever seen depictions of wild animals in prints or paintings, or carved in the stone sculptures that decorated the great buildings in their cities. Pictures in print in the newspapers were rare before the 1830s and most Irish and British people, anyway, could not afford the 6d. to purchase one. However, it was not necessary to purchase these publications and prints in order to see them; anyone passing by the window of their local print shop and bookseller could gaze to their heart’s delight at the latest array of prints and illustrated publications boldly displayed in every windowpane for all to see. This thesis examines and compares a variety of the Irish and British illustrated periodicals that were published during the 1830s, an emotionally charged period of political and religious polarization. The contemporary events and issues surrounding the parliamentary reforms, industrial and technical innovations, evangelical activities and the church reform and anti-tithes movement all contribute to the contextualization of this study. The pictorial images appearing in periodicals during this time have received surprisingly little scholarly attention; this study is the first research project specifically targeting the role of the illustrated periodicals in the pre-famine period