Quick (John Vandenbergh)

The Thames Tunnel Paper, printed by authority, 76 ft. below high-water mark, To commemorate the day of the opening of the Tunnel as a Thoroughfare for Foot Passengers, March 25, 1843,
, , 1843.
an illustrated broadsheet advertising the remarkable engineering feat, the Thames Tunnel, built by the French-born engineer, Sir Marc Brunel, assisted by his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The sheet bears a portrait medallion of the senior engineer, upper centre of the title. Below the central illustration is the sub-heading, ‘Account & Perspective View of the Two Archways, from the Entrance of the Thames Tunnel’, followed by a two-column account of the extensive, and chequered, history of the tunnel’s construction. Brunel proposed it in 1823, to run between Rotherhithe and Wapping, and had raised the finance for its construction to begin in 1825, including a contribution for a keen advocate, the Duke of Wellington. This bold and innovative project was aided significantly by the use of Brunel’s newly patented tunnelling shield. However, as the account describes, it was not without some significant setbacks, including several floods, such that it was nearly twenty years, in March, 1843, before the tunnel finally opened.

John Vandenbergh Quick (1792-1858), was also from emigré stock, being from a long line of Dutch and Flemish printers and publishers. Quick had an established business producing peep shows, paper toys, song sheets and broadsides, but spotted a novel opportunity to take a concession within the tunnel itself to open a shop with printing pressdeep below the Thames. Sadly, the considerable success this venture brought him was squandered on less astute publishing decisions in later years..
320 by 195mm (12½ by 7¾ inches).