The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-08-23 00:00:00

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS AND
SPECIAL ARTISTS.

The following extract from the Illustrated London News
of last week is from one of a series of interezdng articles
entitled, "A Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Pictorial
Journalism," which have been appearing in that journal
The "special correspondent" is an important mem-
ber of the staff of a modern newspaper. In the case of
an illustrated journal he becornea the "special artist."
When an event or a place is of sufficient interest to
require illustration in a pictorial journal the first step
taken is to procure a sketch. The "special artist"
travels about and supplies sketches to the paper he re-
presents. Wherever there is any "moving accident
by flood or field," wherever the pstentates of the
earth are met in conflict, there the "special artist"
is found " takin' notes." He is at the marriages of
Princes and the funerals of Kings, and with
battles and banquets he is familiar. No event of
interest escapes his ever ready pencil. He endures
fatigue, overcomes formidable difficulties, and often
Incurs personal danger in fulfilling his mission. He
has hunted tigers with the Prince of Wales in India,
elephants with the Duke of Edinburgh in Africa, and
he has followed the war-path among the American
Indians. Even the brother of the Sun and Moon could
not keep him out when that celestial potentate took
unto himself a wife and the specialartiat made nothing
of stepping over from London to Pekin to attend the
nuptials of the Chinese Emperor,
The special artist may be said to have commenced
his career with the Crimean War. While the signs of
the coming storm were yet distant the Illustrated
London News sent correspondents to the expected
scene of action, and during the whole course of the
war special artists were on the shores of the Black
Sea and in the Baltic to chronicle the great events of
the time. The world had scarcely forgotten Balaklava
and Inkerman when the war between Italy, France,
and Austria broke out. Solferino and Magenta were
fought, Garibaldi conquered Sicily, and wherever the
interest was greatest there the special artist was
found. Special artists went with the contending
armies when Denmark opposed herself single-handed
to the united forces of Prussia and Austria, and des
lineated every important incident of the campaign.
When the present Emperor of Germany was crowned
King of Prussia at Konigsberg special artists travelled
to that ancient city to furnish sketches of the cere-
mony. The gigantic civil war in America gave
active employment to the special artist; and when
a British force advanced into Abyssinia a special
artist was with that most romantic expedition,
and sent home numerous sketches of the remarkable
scenery of the country, as well as of all the prin-
cipal events of the campaign. The assault on Magdala,
the dispersion of King Theodore's broken army, the
customs and dwellings of the people, were all noted and
illustrated. When the great war of 1870, between
France and Prussia, broke ont, the Illustrated London
News had special artists on both sides, who encoun-
tered all sorts of hardships and passed through all
kinds of adventures in fulfilling their duties. Besides
being frequently arrested as spies, and undergoing the
privations of beleaguered places, they had also to
run the risk of shot and shell, and sometimes they
were obliged to destroy their sketching materials under
fear of arrest. The danger of being seen sketching or
found with sketches iu their possession was so great
that on one occasion a special artist actually
swallowed his sketch to avoid being taken up as a
spy. Another purchased the largest book of
cigarette papers he could obtain, and on them he
made little iketches, prepared in case of danger to
smoke them in the faces of his enemies.
The writer then gives several interesting instances of the
dangers experienced by " special artists" miring the Franco-
German War, and proceeds :

When the effects of a deadly climate are added
to the usual chances of war, the courage and
endurance of the newspaper correspondent are doubly
tried. The " specials " of the principal London
journals joined the Ashantee expedition with as
much alacrity as if they had been going to a
review in Hyde Park. Among them was the
artist of the Illustrated London News, who landed
at Cape Coast Castle bbtore the arrival of the
British troops, marched with them to Coomassie, and
remained in that place till it was destroyed by the
victors. But the long march in such a climate had
exhausted the strength of many, and the special artist
was atomic; the number. On nearing Coomassie he
could no longer trust to his own unaided powers of
locomotion, so he laid hold on the tail of A mule which
he saw aml,ling before him, and so was helped forward.
The gentleman who was riding the mule turned round,
when it proved to be Sir Garnet Wolseley himself,
who, in answer to the exhausted artist's apologies,
good-humouredly told him to "13oli on." . . .