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Edition. London, Printed by Teape & son, Tower Hill;W. Warrington Engraver and Printer and sold at the tunnel. 1832, Firrst Edition / 14th Edition. None and Soft Cover, Folio -24 x 27.9 Cm.; Land Oblong 12mo. Ill.: [Brunel, Marc Isambard]. Very Good/No Jacket.¶ The pamphlet was printed in 1846. The first is a pictorial, illustrated broadside. London June 1832. Printed inside ruled, decorative borders, sheet size 24 x 27.9 cm. The Thames tunnel begun in 1828 by Brunel was the first such structure ever built underwater. Brunel invented the tunnel shield, a giant iron box that could be pushed forward through soft, gooey soil. Diggers worked from 36 individual cells in the box and faced a wall of removable wooden planks. Each digger removed one plank at a time, scooped out about four inches of muck, then quickly replaced the board. The shield was pushed forward by hydraulic jacks, and the whole tedious process was repeated. While the iron shield held up the gooey soil, workers lined the tunnel walls with brick. By 1832 enough of the tunnel was completed and deemed safe and secure to allow the public to walk in it. This broadside is the first such issued. Besides a text supporting continuation of the project which had not been sufficiently funded to allow continued work, the broadside provides a view of the entire tunnel when completed, and a cross-section of its structure. A watercolor by Brunel of the tunnel, with a diagram of it on the verso, is part of the Brunel Exhibition at Rotherthithe. It is clear from this, that the draftsman of this print might very well have been Brunel himself! In 1843, indeed, the tunnel was completed by Brunel, using the same principles. This was only the first of Brunel's great engineering projects. The Great Eastern, for example became the model for the entire class of ocean liners which continue to be produced today. OFFERED WITH An Explanation of the Works of the Tunnel Under the Thames, Now Completed from Rotherthithe to Wapping. 14th Edition. With folding plates, maps and a movable plate showing the tunnel and the machine used for constructing it. Broadside and Pamphlet The broadside is quite rare, our copy has been folded and two letters in the center have been lost. It has been restored and stabilized by a paper conservator. Now VG. The Pamphlet's original wraps, much worn, stained and chipped, contents Very Good..

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