Surprise Collection

Old Woman in the Wood
The tree turns back into the Kings son, to the surprise and pleasure of the girl. (A dramatic instance of magical shape-changing or metamorphosis)

An Intimate backstage moment - Paris Revue, France
An Intimate backstage moment behind the scenes of a Paris Cabaret Revue, France Date: circa 1910s

Naked little girl looking in the mirror
A little girl wearing nothing but her shoes and socks, and pink ribbons in her hair, looks in the mirror and says " Goodness, Is That Me!" She is holding an apple in her left hand

Mermaid of Zennor
At Zennor, Cornwall, a mermaid takes a passer-by by surprise

Paranormal / Combustion
ALARMING CASE OF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION Papa - emerging from a gin palace - is spontaneously combusted, to the surprise of his wife and child

Advert promoting the Post Office Telephone Service. Date: 1932

O wilt thou be my Valentine? by W. Heath Robinson
Tableau staged by a member of the Stock Exchange as a pleasant surprise on Valentines Day. Man dressed as cupid on grandfather clock Please note

Tennis-playing brunette beauty prepares to smash
Striking! A tennis-playing brunette beauty prepares to hit a net-side smash shot. It looks like game, set and match for her handsome male companion. Date: early 1940s

The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin. " An enormous foam globe, on which reclined the little old gentleman." Date: First published: 1851

Radio presenter with giant snail
Radio presenter comes face to face with a giant snail -- a surprise guest on his show. Date: circa 1970s

Roller-skating girl cutting a dash on the beachside boardwal
Frivolous - a roller-skating beauty cutting a dash on the beachside boardwalk Date: early 1940s

Landlady discovers the lodger in the bath
The Lodger was in the bath. A landlady receives a nasty surprise as she comes across the lodger taking a bath

Maskelyne and Cookes "The Artists Dream". John Nevil Maskelyne and George Co
Maskelyne and Cookes " The Artists Dream". John Nevil Maskelyne and George Cooke, presented for the first time to a West End audience an entertainment they had been giving for several years

Cavalry Bivouac
When French cavalry bivouac for the night, the horses are tethered near their weapons in case of a surprise attack by the enemy

Prodigal Son Returns
A ne er-do-well son, obviously the apple of the mothers and sisters eye, returns home. The dog greets him tail wagging, but his stern father doesn t look best pleased

Scipio Africanus discovering military conspiracy
SECOND PUNIC WAR : Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Roman general and statesman, surprises a military conspiracy

Scene from Shakespeares Cymbeline
A scene from shakespeares Cymbeline, in which Imogen, dressed as a boy, has found a hut in the forest and, being hungry, has eaten some food

Comic postcard, woman at the races with bookie, placing a bet both ways Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, accident with bacon slicer Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, nurse, baby and new father - girl or boy? Date: 20th century

English gentleman held captive by two Papal guards in uniform in a room in Avignon. A prisoner at Avignon. Handcoloured copperplate engraving after an illustration by Thomas Rowlandson from Journal

English gentleman in hunting pinks having his portrait painted, 19th century. Ruddle the artist smoking a pipe while painting Bragg seated on a saddle stand. Mr. Braggs equestrian portrait

A group of happy schoolgirls wearing Spanish tartan skirts
A group of delighted schoolgirls sit on a wall and look off camera at something that surprises them and makes them smile. They all wear Spanish tartan skirts. Date: circa 1987

Four old ladies chat in Abbey Gardens, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Two of the women are dressed identically and look like twins. They stand in the same attitude and carry handbags the same way

Gallic Wars (58 BC-50 BC). Caesar attacks the Germanic camp
Gallic Wars (58 BC-50 BC). Caesar led his troops across the Rhine in 55 BC for a punitive expedition against the Germanic tribes

A Trip to the Moon, by Muriel Baines
Illustration, A Trip to the Moon, by Muriel Baines Date: 20th century

The Domestic Rabbit
An illustration of a rabbit outside of his hutch, with a look of surprise on his face as he faces a large cooking pan. Date: circa 1901

He shut up the book Date: 1925

Facial Contortions, 6 illustrations, Surprise and Rage
Facial Contortions, 6 illustrations, 3 showing Surprise, 3 showing Rage'. From an article A Few Hours at a Photographic Studio'. Date: 1895

The Motor Picture Book, And Away She Goes! Date: 1930

Indian, Canadian and South Africa Troops Fighting 1914
An Unpleasant Surprise for the Kaiser! Date: September 1914

A bacchant surprised by a faun in a desolate mountain spot.. A bacchant surprised by a faun in a desolate mountain spot. At the faun's feet are his curved stick or pedum

British Secret Weapons to Surprise the Boche
Military invention by William Heath Robinson to surprise the enemy. Jumping tanks, Boche-grabbers composed of expanding and retracting claws of great size and strength. Date: 1940

The war in America: General Pope's division at the Levee, Ca
General Pope's division on its way from New Madrid to reinforce General Halleck, near Corinth. Reinforcements are seen arriving by train for the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7th 1862

ENCOUNTER WITH SKELETON
An aristocratic pair descend to the cellar, only to be confronted by a skeleton. Well, my dears, you can imagine their surprise... Date: 18th century

STUART/ELIZABETH/COPE
PRINCESS ELIZABETH Death of the second daughter of Charles I, at Carisbrooke Castle on 8 September 1650 Date: 1635 - 1650

LADY AND DEATH'S HEAD
She looks into her mirror but, somewhat to her surprise, instead of her own face she sees a death's head

When a donkey brays, humans clap their hands to their ears and even dogs look up in surprise Date: 1863

The Taking of Zutphen, Siege of Zutphen (present day Gelderland, Netherlands), 19-30 May 1591, part of the Eighty Years War (1568-1648) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)

Comic postcard, Couple arrive in hotel room Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Couple in bed - who are you? Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Woman at Information Bureau Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Two women having breakfast - postcard from the vicar Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Hotel guests complaint Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Couple on the beach at night - theft of ice cream cornet Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Men chat in the street Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Woman with wrong kind of salts Date: 20th century

Surprise of the French under Marshal Soult near Badajoz, Spain, by William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, leading the Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies in May 1811 during the Peninsular War

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