Meeting of the Council of the Anti-Corn Law League 1847

Samuel Bellin (1799–1894), Meeting of the Council of the Anti-Corn Law League, engraving, 1847, after a painting by John Rogers Herbert (1810–1890); source: Government Art Collection, GAC 18361. © Crown copyright: UK Government Art Collection.http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/work.aspx?obj=35442

The popular agitation of the Anti-Corn Law League became notorious in mid-Victorian Britain. The ability to mobilise, inform, and organise popular agitation by the written and spoken word proved to be a powerful tool, and led to the League being renowned as a formidable political machine, which served as the model for later pressure groups.

Samuel Bellin (1799–1894), Meeting of the Council of the Anti-Corn Law League, engraving, 1847, after a painting by John Rogers Herbert (1810–1890); source: Government Art Collection, GAC 18361, https://artcollection.culture.gov.uk/artwork/18361/, © Crown copyright: UK Government Art Collection.