Essay on Magna Charta, engraved title page

What it is

This is the engraved title page that appears before the title page of Richard Thomson's 1829 book, An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John. It was drawn by W. H. Brooke and engraved by A. H. Mason. The central panel reads "Essay on Magna Charta" with a laurel wreath and monogram. A large framed scene shows a king and nobles at a table signing a charter, and Gothic arches, a crown, heraldic shields, a royal figure and a bishop frame the page. The book was printed in London for John Major and Robert Jennings.

Why it matters

Thomson's book was a nineteenth-century study of the charter that King John agreed in 1215. It included the Latin and English texts of the Great Charter, later charters and notes on its editions. The decorated title page shows how Victorian readers were encouraged to see the Magna Carta as a historic foundation of English liberty.

Look closer

• What does the framing of the title page suggest about how the author wanted readers to see the charter?
• Which symbols on the page, such as the crown, the bishop and the shields, stand for authority?
• What might a book like this leave out about the barons who forced the charter on the king?