This is the front page of the first issue of the satirical broadsheet Glasgow Looking Glass, 11 June 1825.
The broadsheet was lavishly illustrated by the English draughtsman, William Heath. He depicted and commented on current news items both at home and abroad, and his illustrations provide snapshots of the appearance of the city as well as the prevailing affectations, fashions, politics and eccentricities at all levels of Glasgow society. Heath's irreverent view of Glasgow and its people perhaps did not endear him to the city and he left for London in 1826.
Glasgow Looking Glass was published fortnightly by John Watson, one of Glasgow's early lithographic printers. It only ran for five issues, becoming the Northern Looking Glass for fourteen more before the final copy appeared on 3 April 1826. The copies held in Glasgow University Library's Special Collections appear to have been hand-coloured.
Reference: Sp Coll Bh14-x.8
Glasgow University Library, Special Collections
Keywords:
broadsheets, front pages, Glasgow Looking Glass, illustrators, lithographers, lithographs, Northern Looking Glass, periodicals, printers, satire, title pages