Part of a pack of ten, all with slightly different designs. Developed from an original Christmas card design sold by the RSA in 1991

Part of a pack of ten, all with slightly different designs. Developed from an original Christmas card design sold by the RSA in 1991

The Society signed the building agreement with Robert and James Adam on 21st March 1772, and the foundation stone of the House was laid (at its west end) exactly a week later. The work was finished 'most justly and faithfully' to the specifications in April 1774 and the Society took occupation during the following June. The building with pilatered facade which close the view at the end of John Street still survives virtually unchanged. Adelphi Terrace (on the extreme right of the picture) was demolished in 1936. In the group appearing in the left foreground Robert Adam is displaying his design for the front elevation of the House to Members of the Society, whilst his brother James, also carrying plans, points toward the site. 56,700 copies sold.

The view of the painting as a whole is taken from somewhere near the site of the present Waterloo Bridge and shows the Royal Terrace just after completion. The Terrace was the major portion of the Adam Brothers' Adelphi scheme, which involved the reclamation of this part of the river and the construction also of John Street, Adam Street and Robert Street, which was not yet built when the picture was painted. A number of members of the Society of Arts had Adelphi addresses at this period, including Robert and James Adam and David Garrick. The Terrace was demolished in 1936 to make way for the building then inscribed Adelphi, arrogating the name of an entire district. Of the true Adelphi only the Society's own premises, Robert Street and some houses in Adam Street survive. Reproduced by permission of the Museum of London. 34,000 copies sold

William Shipley is shown selling winter fuel to the poor at summer prices in a street called the Drapery, in the centre of the town, where he had lodgings and a studio for his professional work as an artist and drawing master from 1747 until 1753. He is being assisted in his calculations by some of the richer Northampton residents who had, after some years' canvass, agreed to subscribe to his fund. The success of his scheme to defeat the Northampton fuel profiteers made Shipley persevere with his plan to raise a national fund for rewarding useful inventions and artistic excellence and in 1753 he came to London with the express purpose of founding a Society of Arts. 28,200 copies sold.

Founder and first Secretary of the Society. Minature presented to the Society in 1786, the inscription beneath is based on that of an original copper-plate engraving of the minature executed by Hincks himself. 11,800 copies sold.

During the 1920's the Society mounted a campaign for the preservation of ancient cottages. It was supported by the then Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, by Thomas Hardy and by many other prominent men of the day. Considerable funds were raised and amongst those buildings which the Society was successful in saving were the three Thomas a Becket cottages near Worthing, Sussex, the group known as Arlington Row at Bilbury in Gloucestershire and some 30 half timbered cottages near Shrewsbury. The major achievement of the campaign was the purchase in 1929 of West Wycombe, which though picturesque, was then in a very poor and neglected condition and about to be put up for sale in sixty lots. In the course of a few years the village was put into good order and in February 1934 the Society formally handed it over to the National Trust for permanent preservation. A plaque commemorating this achievement, reproduced on the back of the card, is affixed to the archway leading into the courtyard of the former Black Boy Inn in West Wycombe. 67,972 copies sold.

This painting was bequeathed to the Society in 1861 by Lady Brown, widow of Captain Sir Samuel Brown, RN (1776-1852), the engineer of the bridge and for many years a member of the Society. Brown invented an improved method of manufacturing links for chain cables which greatly extended their use in the construction of suspension bridges and landing piers. Brown's bar link was first employed in the Union Bridge, completed in July 1820 and subsequently in the Chain Pier at Brighton. The bridge is 18ft wide, 368ft long and the distance between the points of suspension is 432ft. It was the earliest suspension bridge erected in Great Britain calculated for the passage of loaded carriages. The painting itself was executed before the bridge was built to show the effect it would have on the landscape. The large building discernible on the skyline in the centre of the picture, standing high on the northern bank of the Tweed is Paxton House, built to the designs of James and John Adam in the 1750's, with later additions by Robert Reid. Like the bridge, it still stands in fine condition. 34,191 copies sold.

The inital letter and opening words of Chapter Two of Saint Matthew's Gospel, together with a wood engraving showing the three wise men with the Virgin and child. Typography, engraving and design are by Eric Gill and form part of The Four Gospels, produced by the Golden Cockrel Press in 1931. 17,000 copies sold

24 members of the Society's Committee of Agriculture gathered in what was then the open countryside of Brompton, between Westminster and Kensington, to witness the performance of four newly invented seed drill. The Chairman of the Committee can be seen standing in the foreground with Joshua Steele, the celebrated writer on prosody, and Major General George Eliott. To the General's left is the Reverend Humphrey Gainsborough (a brother of Thomas), who looks toward the middle distance at the seed drill he has invented and for which the Society gave a prize of £30. The other successful machine, invented by James Willey appears prominently in the centre of the picture. It won its inventor a prize of £20. Willey stands talking to Joshua Steele and the General and pointing towards his drill. In the background can be seen the two unsuccessful drills, one of which was to be found to be 'capitally defiecient in some part' and the other to be too close to Jethro Tull's famous prototype. 27,000 copies sold.

In 1872 the Society offered prizes for improvements in the design of London cabs. Many of the leading cab proprietors and builders of the day put forward their vehicles. These were submitted to extensive testing, including a journey in procession from Kensington to the City and back, by a special committee of the Society, which suggested detailed practical improvements to six of them. Eventually four of the improved cabs were awarded prizes of £30 each. The picture shows the scene in the grounds of Malborough House on 1st November 1872, when the Prince of Wales, President of the Society, inspected the winning cabs. The Journal reports that His Royal Highness 'expressed himself pleased with the vehicles' and 'gave an order for one for use at Sandringham'. The Prince is depicted in the left foreground with members of the Society's Council and on the extreme right is seen the Princess of Wales with her children. 49,500 copies sold.

Shows part of the Nave and West Dome of the International Exhibition of 1862, with the statue of Queen Victoria, by John Durham, in the right foreground. The Exhibition, which lasted from May to November, occupied the site in South Kensington where the Natural History and Science Museums now stand. The Society was the prime mover of this great display of the arts, sciences, manufactures and trade, perhaps the high water-mark of Victorian material prosperity and ebullience in design. It was responsible for the initial planning, for raising the necessary guarantee fund and for nominating the managing Commission. The Exhibition itself was on a larger and more ambitious scale than its famous predecessor of 1951, and attracted nearly six and a quarter million visitors. 24,000 copies sold

Reporoduced by permission of the Dean and Chapter, designed by Gordon Drummond, TD, ARMS, member of council. 41,813 copies sold.

Shows a prize giving ceremony in the Great Room. 23,000 copies sold.

Designed by Miss Anna Zinkeisen, incorporates the features of five members whose portraits can now be traced as: Dr Stephen Hales (at far end of table), Henry Baker and Viscount Folkestone (both standing), Lord Romney and William Shipley (centre of table, far side). The others present at the meeting were John Goodchild, Gustavus Brander, James Short, Nicholas Crisp, Charles Lawrence and Husband Messiter. 22,500 copies sold.

The first known Christmas card appeared in 1843. The artist was J C Horsley, RA, who carried out the work at the suggestion of Henry Cole, a staunch supporter of the Society and Chairman of Council in 1850 and 1852. 25,000 copies sold.

The first known Christmas card appeared in 1843. The artist was J C Horsley, RA, who carried out the work at the suggestion of Henry Cole, a staunch supporter of the Society and Chairman of Council in 1850 and 1852. 25,000 copies sold.

In 1758 the Society made the first of its many awards intended to promote reafforestation in Great Britain. A gold medal was awarded to Henry, fifth Duke of Beaufort, to mark the planting of acorns 'for the raising of Oak Timber' upon 23 acres of his estate at Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire. The artist, Anna Zinkeisen has depicted the Duke (in a red coat) listening as his steward, Robert Croucher, reads an advertisement of the conditions upon which the Society's offer of the medal was made. The mounted figure on the left is the Duke's sister, Lady Anne Somerset. Badminton House, the Duke's seat, can be seen in the distance. 24,000 copies sold.

Fifth painting in a series entitled 'The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture', displayed in the Great Room. It depicts officers and members of the Society distributing its awards to encourage arts, manufactures and commerce in the presence of the then Prince of Wales, later George IV. Beyond is an idealised representation of the river front of Somerset House and the dome of St Pauls. In the centre, a young female prizewinner is being presented to the Duchess of Northumberland by Mrs Montagu, and the Duchess of Rutland and Devonshire are grouped behing them, a reminder that membership of the Society was from its earliest years open to women. The founder of the Society is seated bottom left. 15,000 copies sold