Dais Gallery

Tsar Nicholas II speaking at the opening of the first Duma, St Petersburg, Russia, 27 April 1906

Tsar Nicholas II speaking at the opening of the first Duma, St Petersburg, Russia, 27 April 1906. The Duma, the elected legislative assembly of the Russian Empire, was established as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918), who opened the Duma, was determined to retain his autocratic power over the government of Russia however. Shortly before the Duma opened, he passed the Fundamental Laws, which stated that the Tsar's ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma. Increasing tension between the Duma's members and Nicholas's ministers led to the assembly being dissolved within ten weeks of its opening. Found in the collection of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, Moscow

© Fine Art Images

Opening of the Leamington and Warwick Railway - Kenilworth Station, 1844

Opening of the Leamington and Warwick Railway - Kenilworth Station, 1844. The stations are remarkable for convenience of arrangement, and simplicity of design. The one at Kenilworth is an elegant and very light structure, fitted with spacious booking-offices, comfortable waiting-rooms, &c; and stands within a quarter of a mile of the village, with excellent approaches, and covered reception arcade, for carriages and passengers. We give a view of it, as a model of its kind'. From "Illustrated London News", 1844, Vol I

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Railway station, 1951. Creator: Shirley Markham

Railway station, 1951. Interior of a London station. 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