The Zulu War - Sailors of H.M.S. Shah Crossing the River the River for the Relief of Ekowe [Original 1879 Wood Engraving]

London: The Illustrated London News. Good+. 1879. First Edition. Print. The Illustrated London News; No. 2081 ; Vol. LXXIV; 1 pages; Image measures 14.5 X 9 inches; matted measures 22 X 14 inches. This illustrated titlepage of the May 3, 1879 issue of The London Illustrated News has a banner illustration of the City of London with the River Thames in the foreground showing a steam paddle boat and several boats with teams of rowers. There is one very small flaw/bump in the engraving in the vast area of sky that does not significantly detract from the dramatic image. The primary illustration depicts The Zulu War - Sailors of H.M.S. Shah Crossing the River the River for the Relief of Ekowe. The Siege of Eshowe took place during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The siege was part of a three-pronged attack on the Zulu Impis of king Cetshwayo at Ulundi. After an incursion as far as Eshowe, Colonel Charles Pearson was besieged there for two months by the Zulus. Lord Chelmsford led the relief column, consisting of 3,390 Europeans and 2,280 Africans to Eshowe. The artillery with the column consisted of two 9-pounder guns, four 24-pounder Congreve rockets tubes and two Gatling guns. After fighting the Battle of Gingindlovu, a British victory, the relief column entered Eshowe on 3 April, led by the pipers of the 91st Highlanders. The two-month siege had been lifted. Chelmsford concluded that Eshowe did not need to be retained, and the laboriously constructed defences were demolished. Bivouacking on the first night after their departure from it on 6 April, Pearson's men could see that the Zulus had set Eshowe alight. The artist Richard Caton Woodville Jr. RI ROI (1856 – 1927) was an English painter and illustrator, one of the most prolific and effective painters of battle scenes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Woodville spent most of his career working for the Illustrated London News. Woodville first experienced battle first-hand when he was sent by the Illustrated London News to report upon the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and then again in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. His work proved popular, and was regularly exhibited in Burlington House, where 21 of his battle paintings were eventually shown. His most popular works were ones that dealt with contemporary wars, such as the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the Zulu War, and the First Boer War. Additional shipping charge may apply. .