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Cooke's Views of Old and New London Bridges 1833

Views of the Old and New London Bridges, With Scientific and Historical Notices of the Two Bridges and a Concise Essay on Bridges by George Rennie Esq. FRS FAS. Drawn and etched by Edward William Cooke, London, 1833.

2024 Cookes London Bridges 8594

These twelve large high quality black and white etchings show the demolition of old London Bridge and the start of the construction of the New London Bridge close by. They are important as they show the area around the River Thames at a time when there were major engineering works such as bridges, tunnels and sewers being constructed in London. Edward Cooke RA (1811-1880) was the leading marine artist of the time and was responsible for these drawings and etchings. George Rennie (1791-1866) was the eldest son of civil engineer John Rennie (the Elder, 1761-1821) whose design won the competition for the construction of the new London Bridge.

The book includes the following description of the accompanying text:;

The text following the plates consists of: Historical Description Of Old London Bridge; Historical Account Of New London Bridge; Particulars Of The Total Cost Of London Bridge; Practical Remarks On The Arch - Bridge Building, &c.; Table Of The Principal Bridges In Europe; On The Former And Present State Of The Tides In The River Thames, In Consequence Of The Removal Of Old London Bridge. (Grosvenor Prints).

RGSSA catalogue number rgsp 725.9809421 C772 d cabinet 3 Shelf 1.

In 1830 it was decided to replace the old London Bridge and a competition was held for the design and construction of the new bridge. The competition was won by prominent civil engineer John Rennie in 1824. The new bridge consisted of five arches built of Dartmoor granite and was 928 feet long and 49 feet wide. It was opened to traffic in 1831 and was a great success and lasting for 140 years.

In 1968 the American entrepreneur Robert Paxton McCulloch purchased the bridge for 1.02 million pounds and had it rebuilt on Lake Havasu as a tourist attraction.

George Cooke (1781-1834), who was the publisher of this work, was an etcher and draughtsman and his son Edward Cooke (1811-1880) who did these drawings and etchings was a noted marine artist and gardener.

Edward Cooke is recognised as one of the great marine artists of the 19th century. His was a precocious talent and at a very young age, between 1828-1829, he produced Fifty Views of Shipping and Craft. He went on to spend a lifetime drawing and painting seascapes, landscapes and sailing ships of all sorts. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1863 and one year later in 1864 was elected to the Royal Academy. 

George Cooke (1781-1834), father of Edward, was an English " line engraver" who used copper engravings as his medium. He was prolific producing plates for many publications such as The Beauties of England and Wales (shortly after his apprenticeship) with his older brother William. Other publications included Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England from drawings made mainly by Turner. Between 1817 and 1833 he produced plates for the 20 volume Botanical Cabinet Consisting of Coloured Delineations of Plants from Various Countries for the publisher Conrad Loddiges of London.

© The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia

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