Londiniana
Edward Wedlake Brayley’s Londiniana was published in four volumes in 1828 and 1829 with the intention of illustrating the topography of London as it existed ‘in former times’.[1]
In contrast to Britton, who was keen to advocate for the quality of the artists and engravers employed for his books, Brayley was less concerned about the quality of the engravings in Londiniana. In fact, he freely admitted that the engravings were ‘of a mixed description’. His intention was 'that the work should be rendered popular from its cheapness as well as from its character.’ In other words, Brayley sought to make his Londiniana more accessible to a broader cross-section of potential readers.[2]
Brayley notes that the inferior prints are generally those copied from John Strype’s expanded version of John Stow’s A Survey of London, which were chosen to show London’s buildings in the early eighteenth century. Subjects and plans introduced from better engravings, or taken from drawings, are better executed.[2] Brayley's desire to show how things were in the past, not as they appeared in the present, required him to seek out the older works of others.
