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Secondary sourcePainting1839

The Thames Tunnel (engraving in Meyer's Universum)

1839

An 1839 German engraving of the Thames Tunnel, Brunel's first major project, published while he was still alive.

Shows the Thames Tunnel, Brunel's first major project, as presented to readers of a German illustrated encyclopedia in 1839.

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Engraving titled Der Themse-Tunnel showing a long arched brick tunnel receding into the distance. Workers and figures walk on a cobbled floor, a lamp post stands at right, and a man sits at lower left. Caption text appears at the bottom.
Meyer's Universum, vol. 6, Der Themse-Tunnel, engraving, 1839. Bibliographisches Institut, Hildburghausen.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraving titled Der Themse-Tunnel, printed in Meyer's Universum, volume 6, published by the Bibliographisches Institut in Hildburghausen in 1839. It shows a long arched brick tunnel receding into the distance, with figures walking on a cobbled floor, a lamp post at the right, and a seated man at the lower left. Caption text appears at the bottom. The image is an engraving, not a photograph.

Why it matters

The Thames Tunnel, under the River Thames in London, was the first major project of Brunel's career. Its publication in a German encyclopedia of wonders while he was alive shows that his work was known well beyond Britain. The engraving presents the tunnel as a sight to be seen, which says as much about how engineering was admired in the 1830s as it does about the tunnel itself.

Look closer

  • What do the people in the engraving seem to be doing, and why might the artist have included them?
  • Why might an encyclopedia of the world's sights choose to show a tunnel?
  • What does the engraving leave out, such as the dangers and hardships faced by the workers who built the tunnel?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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