Cake Gallery

Alfred in the Neat-Herds Cottage, 1776. Artist: I Hall

Alfred in the Neat-Herd's Cottage, 1776. King Alfred, in disguise, is rebuked by the Neat Herd's Wife, for letting the cakes burn. Alfred the Great (849-899), Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex from 871. Much of Alfred's reign was taken up with the struggle against the Danish invaders. After Alfred defeated the Danes at Edington, Wiltshire, in 878, England was divided in half, with the south-western part in the hands of the Saxons, and the north-eastern portion, the Danelaw, administered by the Danes. War broke out again in the 890s, but by 897 the Danes had been defeated. A plate from The Copper-Plate Magazine or A Monthly Treasure, London, 1776

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

The Burghley Christening Cake, 1844. Creator: Unknown

The Burghley Christening Cake, 1844. Elaborate cake decorated with flags, to celebrate a christening at Burghley House, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. From "Illustrated London News", 1844, Vol V

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

19th Century, B And, B And W, B W, Baptism, Black And White, Britain, British, Building, Buildings, Burghley House, Burleigh House, Cake, Cakes, Century, Christening, Christening Cake, Christianity, Concept, Country House, Decoration, Decorative, Elaborate, Engraving, Food, House, Houses, Illustrated London News, Iln, Newspaper, Newspapers, Nineteenth Century, Press, Religion, Religious, Stately Home, The Print Collector, Unknown, Victorian, White

Lobster, fish and cake, menu design, c1950. Creator: Shirley Markham

Lobster, fish and cake, menu design, c1950. Shirley Markham (1931-1999) studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central School of Art in London from 1950-1952. The writer, artist, poet, and illustrator Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was one of her tutors, and her style of drawing was also influenced by other British illustrators such as Edward Ardizzone, Quentin Blake and Edward Bawden. Markham spent time in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, and also visited Rome, sketching classical buildings. After graduating from Central, she worked as a graphic designer, producing book illustrations, cartoons for comics, menus and programmes. She gave up her promising career however when she got married in 1957. Middle-class women at that time were expected to devote their energies to bringing up children and running the home, and despite her obvious talent, she lacked the confidence to return to illustration. Her portfolio remained in the family attic for many years, but now her work is published here for the first time

© Shirley Markham Collection / Heritage-Images