Reception Gallery

Alexandra Palace, the home of the B.B.C. The large transmitt

Alexandra Palace as the home of the B.B.C television service in 1936 showing the mast and transmitting aerials for vision and sound. Special tests of reception of the B.B.C from Alexandra Palace of synchronised television and speech were held at Olympia by a committee of the Radio Manufacturers Association. On alternate days transmissions from Alexandra Palace were given by Baird and Marconi E.M.I systems. In 1935 the B.B.C experimented with John Logie Baird's television system and Marconi's E.M.I system. The E.M.I succeeded Baird's in 1937

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Invitation - Reception for Sultan Aziz in London

Invitation to a reception given by the City of London in honour of Sultan Aziz during his stay in London in July 1867. Aziz cultivated good relations with the Second French Empire and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and was the first Ottoman sultan to visit Western Europe, in 1867, which included a visit to England, where he was made a Knight of the Garter by Queen Victoria and shown a Royal Navy Fleet Review with his Khedive of Egypt. He travelled by a private rail car, which today can be found in the Rahmi M. Koc Museum in Istanbul. His fellow Knights of the Garter created in 1867 were Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, Charles Manners, 6th Duke of Rutland, Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Franz Joseph I of Austria and Alexander II of Russia

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

The main lobby at the American Red Cross Club, Rainbow Corner, London

The main lobby at the American Red Cross Club, Rainbow Corner, London, the main base in London for US servicemen. The lobby was the club's busiest area and comprised of a cashier's desk where soldiers could deposit valuables and exchange money, an enquiries desk and a reception, where a team of receptionists would help men find a bed at one of the other Red Cross centres across the capital. Rainbow Corner's slogan was doors that never close though of course, they eventually did in 1946. Date: 1945

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans