View of St James’s Palace and View of Kensington Palace £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
St James’s Palace, built for Henry VIII in the 1530s, served as the formal seat of court ceremony and diplomatic reception throughout the Georgian era, even after the royal family largely relocated to Kensington Palace. Kensington, acquired by William and Mary and redesigned by Wren, functioned as a private and domestic court residence, away from the ritual obligations of St James’s. Together the paired views illustrate the divided geography of the Hanoverian court: protocol at St James’s, life at Kensington.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Both palaces survive; St James’s remains the official court; Kensington adapted as royal apartments and museum spaces.
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Ceremony of the Champion’s Challenge at the Coronation £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
This plate depicts the medieval ritual performed at coronation banquets, in which the King’s Champion rode into Westminster Hall in full armour and issued a formal challenge to any who disputed the sovereign’s right to rule. The ceremony, rooted in Norman feudal tradition, emphasized the martial foundations of monarchy and the legal solemnity of coronation. By Chamberlain’s time it persisted primarily as a theatrical survival, prized for its splendour rather than its juridical function.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Ceremony last performed in 1821 at the coronation of George IV; later coronations dispensed with it.
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His Majesty King George III Granting his Royal License for the Publication of this Work £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
This official vignette shows George III granting the royal license required for the publication of Chamberlain’s history, a formal acknowledgement that the work did not infringe upon Crown prerogative or political sensibilities. The scene reflects the enduring relationship between print culture and royal authority in the eighteenth century, when large illustrated works often sought royal patronage for both legitimacy and commercial advantage.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Royal licensing for books declined in the nineteenth century as censorship shifted from pre-publication control to libel and sedition law after publication.
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Bishops and Citizens Swearing Fealty to William the Conqueror £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
A historical reconstruction of the post-Conquest oath of fealty to William I, symbolizing the transfer of sovereignty following the Norman invasion of 1066. Though dramatically rendered, the image reflects the legal basis of medieval kingship in mutual obligation and sworn loyalty, themes that continued to shape coronation ritual into the Georgian age. The inclusion of ecclesiastics underscores the fusion of secular and sacred authority in the formation of the English state.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Scene is antiquarian and not contemporary; based on chronicle sources and later historical imagination.
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Henry Fitzalwine first Lord Mayor of London and Sir William Walworth Lord Mayor of London £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
This leaf pairs two emblematic medieval lord mayors: Henry Fitzalwine, the first recorded holder of the office in the twelfth century, and Sir William Walworth, famed for striking down Wat Tyler during the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt. The images function as civic genealogy, linking the medieval origins of municipal authority to the Georgian present. Such antiquarian portraiture reinforced London’s claim to unique corporate privileges, including the right to elect its own mayor.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Both figures long dead at the time of publication; portrayals derived from post-medieval iconography and civic legend.
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A Representation of an Ancient Tournament £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
A romanticized reconstruction of a medieval chivalric tournament, presented as part of the ceremonial heritage of the English court. Tournaments served as both martial training and aristocratic spectacle, reinforcing hierarchies of rank and honour. By the eighteenth century they survived only in print, public imagination, and occasional antiquarian revival. Chamberlain’s inclusion reflects the period’s taste for picturesque medievalism and courtly pageantry.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: No such tournaments were held in Georgian London; imagery based on earlier engravings and antiquarian sources.
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Habit of the Lady Mayoress of London in 1640 and Habit of a Merchant’s Wife of London in 1640 £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
This costume plate contrasts the ceremonial dress of the Lady Mayoress with the more modest attire of a merchant’s wife in early Stuart London. Such dress prints formed part of the broader antiquarian interest in social rank, gender, and civic ritual. The depiction underscores the role of clothing as a visual language of hierarchy and propriety in seventeenth-century urban life.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Dress styles shown obsolete by publication; imagery derived from earlier seventeenth-century costume books.
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Habit of the Lord Mayor of London in 1640 and Habit of a Merchant of London about 1640 £10 (approx. 7.5 × 11.5 in)
These views come from Henry Chamberlain’s New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (London, c.1770), one of the earliest illustrated surveys of London.
A companion plate to the female dress prints, here showing the ceremonial costume of the Lord Mayor alongside the attire of a merchant. The mayoral robes, with fur and chain of office, expressed the dignity and authority of the City’s corporate government. The merchant’s dress reflects the sober affluence of London’s trading elite, the class that dominated civic institutions and guild administration.
Date: c. 1769–1772
Notes: Lord mayoral regalia continues in altered form; costume imagery retrospective at the time of publication.
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