Mortar Collection (#5)

Charles Dickens (litho)
2813177 Charles Dickens (litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Charles Dickens. Illustration for The Charles Dickens Originals by Edwin Pugh (T N Foulis)

The Invention of Gunpowder and the First Casting of Bronze Cannon
XJF343696 The Invention of Gunpowder and the First Casting of Bronze Cannon, plate 4 from Nova Reperta (New Discoveries) engraved by Philip Galle (1537-1612) c.1600 (engraving) by Straet

The first mason (chromolitho)
973957 The first mason (chromolitho) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The first mason. Educational card, late 19th or early 20th century.); © Look and Learn

Porters mortar fleet in Trim, June 1862 (engraving)
959242 Porters mortar fleet in Trim, June 1862 (engraving) by American School, (19th century) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Porters mortar fleet in Trim, June 1862)

Attack upon Fort Pulaski, April 1863 (engraving)
959219 Attack upon Fort Pulaski, April 1863 (engraving) by American School, (19th century) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Attack upon Fort Pulaski, April 1863)

Children cooking (chromolitho)
961295 Children cooking (chromolitho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Children cooking. Humorous 19th century illustration.); © Look and Learn

Siege warfare under Marshal Vauban, 17th Century (chromolitho)
1094127 Siege warfare under Marshal Vauban, 17th Century (chromolitho) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Siege warfare under Marshal Vauban, 17th Century)

A Medieval Kitchen (woodcut) (b / w photo)
XJF138674 A Medieval Kitchen (woodcut) (b/w photo) by Italian School, (16th century); Private Collection; Italian, out of copyright

London Going out of Town or The March of Bricks and Mortar
2562216 London Going out of Town or The March of Bricks and Mortar, 1829 (hand-coloured engraving) by Cruikshank, George (1792-1878); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English

Fortress artillery of the French Army (coloured engraving)
5998749 Fortress artillery of the French Army (coloured engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fortress artillery of the French Army)

Poorly-paid women in Jamaica, West Indies, doing the work of men (b / w photo)
6002628 Poorly-paid women in Jamaica, West Indies, doing the work of men (b/w photo) by American Photographer (19th century) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Poorly-paid women in Jamaica)

The New Works at the Siege of Sebastopol on the Right Attack
5929012 A The New Works at the Siege of Sebastopol on the Right Attack, from the Mortar Battery on the right of Gordons BatteryA (colour litho) by Simpson

Antiquities discovered at Naukratis by the Egypt Exploration Fund (engraving)
1614363 Antiquities discovered at Naukratis by the Egypt Exploration Fund (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Plate 506. Bricklaying, 1872-85 (collotype on paper)
3950354 Plate 506. Bricklaying, 1872-85 (collotype on paper) by Muybridge, Eadweard (1830-1904); 20.6x36.7 cm; Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

Sketches at a Dynamite Manufactory (engraving)
1622649 Sketches at a Dynamite Manufactory (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Sketches at a Dynamite Manufactory)

Building the tomb of a first dynasty king, c. 1920 (litho)
1122875 Building the tomb of a first dynasty king, c.1920 (litho) by Wright, Henry Charles Seppings (1850-1937); Private Collection; (add.info)

The Inner Cloisters of Westminster (colour litho)
960907 The Inner Cloisters of Westminster (colour litho) by Crane, Thomas (1808-59); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Inner Cloisters of Westminster)

Kings Chapel and Clare Chapel (colour litho)
3648942 Kings Chapel and Clare Chapel (colour litho) by Morley, Henry (1870-1937); Private Collection; (add.info.: Kings Chapel and Clare Chapel)

Union work-detail preparing to install mortars near Petersburg, Virginia
867768 Union work-detail preparing to install mortars near Petersburg, Virginia, summer 1864 (b/w photo) by American Photographer

Federal 10-inch mortar battery on Morris Island, SC, 1865 (b / w photo)
867774 Federal 10-inch mortar battery on Morris Island, SC, 1865 (b/w photo) by Cooley, Samuel A. (fl.1864); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pair of 10-inch Union seacoast mortars and their crew)

Vertical Section of Breakwater at Cherbourg (engraving)
3624790 Vertical Section of Breakwater at Cherbourg (engraving) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Vertical Section of Breakwater at Cherbourg)

The cobblers wax (colour litho)
3641698 The cobblers wax (colour litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The cobblers wax. Postcard, early 20th century.); © Look and Learn

The War in Crimea (engraving)
2785484 The War in Crimea (engraving) by Portch, Julian (active c. 1855); Private Collection; (add.info.: The War in Crimea)

Darkroom Still Life by Doris Ulmann, 1918 (platinum print)
2622419 Darkroom Still Life by Doris Ulmann, 1918 (platinum print) by Ulmann, Doris (1882-1934); Private Collection; (add.info.: Darkroom Still Life by Doris Ulmann (American)

London going out of town, or, the march of bricks and mortar (engraving)
606325 London going out of town, or, the march of bricks and mortar (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: London going out of town, or)

The mortar battery at Woolwich, London (coloured engraving)
603233 The mortar battery at Woolwich, London (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The mortar battery at Woolwich)

Convicts forming the mortar battery (engraving)
614681 Convicts forming the mortar battery (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Convicts forming the mortar battery in the Woolwich Marshes, Woolwich)

French soldiers with a mortar in action during the Battle of the Marne east of Paris
697604 French soldiers with a mortar in action during the Battle of the Marne east of Paris, September 1914 (autochrome) by Gervais-Courtellemont, Jules (1863-1931); eGalerie Bilderwelt; French

British paratroopers bombard German positions with mortars, Battle of Arnhem
PNP412196 British paratroopers bombard German positions with mortars, Battle of Arnhem, 1944 (b/w photo) by English School

Dr. Brodum and his Assistant as Work Pro Bono Publico (pencil
474186 Dr. Brodum and his Assistant as Work Pro Bono Publico (pencil, pen & ink and w/c on paper) by Rowlandson, Thomas (1756-1827)

Pot-Pourri (oil on canvas)
CH362862 Pot-Pourri (oil on canvas) by Leslie, George Dunlop (1835-1921); 99.1x99.1 cm; Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; English, out of copyright

A French trench-mortar in its winter den, illustration from
STC405619 A French trench-mortar in its winter den, illustration from The Illustrated War News, 7th March 1917 (b/w photo) by French Photographer

Poster for the World War I film Die Grosse Schlacht in Frankreich
528534 Poster for the World War I film Die Grosse Schlacht in Frankreich Part I (The Great Battle in France): German gunners round a mortar. Field Marshal Hindenburg a towering in background

16th Century Mortars on Moveable Carriages, c. 1880 (litho)
KW441340 16th Century Mortars on Moveable Carriages, c.1880 (litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Distillation, boiling water to purify it, engraved by Philip Galle (1537-1612) (engraving
STC291613 Distillation, boiling water to purify it, engraved by Philip Galle (1537-1612) (engraving) (later colouration) by Straet

The Invention of Gunpowder and the First Casting of Bronze Cannon
STC291610 The Invention of Gunpowder and the First Casting of Bronze Cannon, plate 4 from Nova Reperta (New Discoveries) engraved by Philip Galle (1537-1612) c.1600 (engraving) (later colouration)

The Apothecary C. Morelot (b. 17 February 1719) in his pharmacy, 1751 (oil on canvas)
CHT163037 The Apothecary C. Morelot (b.17 February 1719) in his pharmacy, 1751 (oil on canvas) by Souville, C. (18th century); Musee de l Hotel-Dieu, Beaune, France; (add.info.: L Apothicaire C)

Hocus Pocus or Searching for the Philosophers Stone
CHT164016 Hocus Pocus or Searching for the Philosophers Stone, published March 1800 (colour litho) by Rowlandson, Thomas (1756-1827); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

German soldier aiming a 21 cm mortar, World War I, 1914-1918 (b / w photo)
6000136 German soldier aiming a 21 cm mortar, World War I, 1914-1918 (b/w photo) by German Photographer (20th Century); Private Collection; (add.info.: German soldier aiming a 21 cm mortar)

Large Mortar, Cast at the Vauxhall Foundry, Liverpool (engraving)
1608722 Large Mortar, Cast at the Vauxhall Foundry, Liverpool (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Large Mortar, Cast at the Vauxhall Foundry, Liverpool)

Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford (engraving)
5230505 Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford)

Pestle and Mortar (engraving)
3651715 Pestle and Mortar (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pestle and Mortar)

The Peasants Wise Daughter, from Little Brother & Little Sister
3704750 The Peasants Wise Daughter, from Little Brother & Little Sister and Other Tales by the Brothers Grimm, pub.1917 (litho) by Rackham

Mired Confederate mortar in Fort McAlister, near Savannah, Georgia, 1864 (b / w photo)
867769 Mired Confederate mortar in Fort McAlister, near Savannah, Georgia, 1864 (b/w photo) by Cooley, Samuel A. (fl.1864); Private Collection; (add.info)

Aiming an 8-inch Union siege mortar in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia
867767 Aiming an 8-inch Union siege mortar in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia, as sketched by Alfred R. Waud (pencil on paper) by Waud

A Pharmacy Student preparing medicine, illustration from
CHT163049 A Pharmacy Student preparing medicine, illustration from Les Francais peints par eux-memes, Editions L. Curmer, 1841 (colour engraving) by French School

The Duke of Wellington, a sketch by a lady, taken at Oxford 13 June 1834 (coloured engraving)
1108287 The Duke of Wellington, a sketch by a lady, taken at Oxford 13 June 1834 (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Duke of Wellington)

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"Mortar: A Timeless Binding Force" Throughout history, it has served as a powerful symbol of unity and progress. From the vibrant brushstrokes of Diego Velazquez's masterpiece "Old Woman Cooking Eggs" to the diligent bricklayers in 1827, this versatile substance has played an integral role in shaping our world. In times of war, mortar took on new meaning as it propelled the Churchill AVRE Tank through the battlefields of France during World War II. Its strength and resilience became synonymous with courage and determination. Yet, mortar's significance extends beyond conflict. It found its place among ancient fossils like the Ichthyosaurus, standing proudly as a museum piece that bridges past and present. Even Queen Elizabeth herself recognized its importance when she visited Lloyds in 1952, acknowledging how it binds nations together. As London expanded outward, mortar became a cornerstone of growth and development. The Porthgain lime workings in West Wales stand testament to its ability to transform landscapes and build communities from scratch. But mortar is not just about grandeur; it also celebrates individuality. Little Tich danced his way into hearts using his unique style while showcasing how even small fragments can create something extraordinary when combined with care. Science too owes much to this humble material - whether it be depicted by "The Chemist" in 1827 or utilized for periscopes in trenches during wartime surveillance - demonstrating its versatility across various fields. Mortar witnessed pivotal moments throughout history – none more impactful than Emily Davison's brave act at the Epsom Derby which sparked change for women's rights worldwide. In her sacrifice lies a reminder that sometimes we must break down barriers before we can rebuild stronger foundations. Finally, within Oxford University robes worn by Proctors stands another testament to tradition upheld by mortar – reminding us that knowledge is built upon centuries-old wisdom passed down through generations. From artistry to warfare, expansion to individuality, it has been the binding force that holds our world together.