The subject of the 1956 Christmas card was chosen from the records of Benjamin Franklin's association with the Society in view of the 200th anniversary on September 1st 1956 of his election to membership and of the 250th anniversary of his birth, which was celebrated in January 11th 1956. The designer, Miss Anna Zinkeisen, has reconstructed a meeting held on February 3rd 1759, of the committee responsible for fine art competitions, at this meeting selected candidates were interviewed for confirmation of their awards. The minutes of the meeting give a list of those who were present, and from contemporary portraits Miss Zinkeisen has been able to select those shown: Judges: Benjamin Franklin (seated), William Chambers (standing behind chair), Edward Hooper and James 'Athenian' Stuart (looking at figure drawn by Richard Cosway). Candidates: William Peters (being examined by Benjamin Franklin), Richard Cosway and Henry Pingo (seated at end of room). 25,000 copies sold.

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Painted by Anna Zinkeisen, T R Crampton is third from left, wearing an Inverness cape. Awarded the Society's gold medal in 1846 for his invention of the narrow-gauge locomotive engine. Working from engravings and records preserved at the Science Museum and in the archives, the artist has reproduced not only the design but also the original colouring of the engine. 34,000 copies sold.

Reproduced from the painting in the Society's collection, attributed to Joseph Nash (1808-1878). The Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert, the Princess Royal and Prince Alfred, together with the King of Portugal, appear in the centre of the picture, amidst a huge throng of spectators. The Great Exhibition of 1851, house in Sir Joseph Paxton's original Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, was set up by the Society of Arts as a showcase for the industry of all nations but especially that of Britain, then nearing its apogee. When the exhibition closed the structure was bought by the Crystal Palace Company, dismantled, and in an enlarged form devised by Paxton, re-erected at Sydenham, a labour of an immensity in keeping with the concept of the exhibition itself and with Victorian ambition and confidence. Until its destruction by Fire in November 1936 the 'new' Crystal Palace was the leisure resort of vast numbers of Londoners and a centre for recreational and cultural activities. Particularly notable for fostering musical appreciation in this country were the series of concerts initiated and organized by Sir George Grove, first Secretary to the Crystal Palace Company and Secretary of the Society of Arts at the time of the Great Exhibition. 70,530 copies sold.

Transfer drawing in pen and watercolour by Thomas Bewick for the engraving in his History of British Birds Vol I. 1797. Several hundred of such preparatory drawings and watercolours have survived and many are considered outstanding in their own right. The drawing is in the collection in the British Museum. In 1767 Bewick became apprenticed to Ralph Bielby of Newcastle upon Tyne and so commenced his career as a wood engraver. He received a premium or prize from the Society for engravings to illustrate a book of fables published in 1776. On being given the choice of a gold medal or seven guineas he chose the latter and presented it to his mother. Several of his pupils later also gained premiums. a fact of which he was very proud. 21,000 copies sold.

Painted by Anna Zinkeisen, RDI; 12,500 sold

Taken from a bas-relief in marble by Ernst Rietchel, a renowned 19th century European sculptor. 'The Angel is represented in the form of a graceful youth floating in the air with the infant saviour in his arms; two infant Angels attend his course. This group has a peculiar charm from the beauty of the heads and figures, the grace of the action, the suddenness of the movement impressed on the flying drapery, and the masterly yet tender handling of the marble'. Extract from the jurors commentary in the Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Viscount Folkestone was the first President of the Society of Arts, 1755-1761. 13,000 sold

This painting was commissioned from the artist in 1863 by Members' subscriptions as part of the Society's memorial to the Prince Consort's Presidency (1843-1861). Together with a companion portrait of the Prince himself (by C.W. Cope, RA) it was hung in the Great Room. Both pictures remained there until the alterations to the Society's House in 1922-23 when they were removed to their present positions on the main staircase. In Horsley's painting The Queen and her children are shown as they would have been in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, which Prince Albert so largely inspired and guided. The young Prince of Wales is holding a plan of the Exhibition building. The other children depicted are (in order of age) The Princess Royal, Princess Alice, Prince Alfred (subsequently Duke of Edinburgh), Princess Helena, Princess Louise and little Prince Arthur (who as Duke of Connaught was to assume the Presidency in 1911). 43,125 copies sold.

Shows the Society's House on left

Fifth painting in a series entitled 'The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture', displayed in the Great Room. Key to some of the portraits on reverse of card. 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 Paul's. 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 behind 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.

First painting in a series entitled 'The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture', displayed in the Great Room. This painting 'exhibits mankind in a savage state, full of imperfection, inconvenience and misery': not least being the savage animals in the middle and far distance. Orpheus himself, who occupies the centre of the composition, is extolling to his auditors the values of human culture. The countenances of those on the right hand who are attending to the divine lessons show 'the effect of those benefits which accrue to Mankind from the True Philosophy and Religion'. 19,500 copies sold.

Mr Davis's Chimney Brush was awarded the Society's Silver medal in 1806. In a letter dated 17 October 1806, B M Forster, who witnessed its original use and signed a certificate of approbation wrote :'I am convinced that chimnies may be swept as cleanly and effectually, as is commonly done with climbing-boys, so that the difference to the families who employ your machine will be, that they have the same comfort of a clean chimney, and are satisfied that they no longer use a method which is full of horrors and a disgrace to a civilised country'. The illustration of Joseph Davis's invention is taken from the Transaction of the Society, Vol XXV (1807). He received a number of other awards from the Society for his household inventions. Figures A are four brushes for sweeping the four sides of the chimney; figures B show two of the four springs which expand the machine to chimnies of all sizes; C represents the brush at the top of the machine proper for cleansing the pots; figures D show four lines to draw the brushes near together by a cord E, so that the machine may be forced up the chimney with greater facility. F shows the string to expand the brushes when the machine is at the top of the flue. 16,000 copies sold.

Mermaid Street, Rye, one of the most beautiful and well known thoroughfares in England, is in the heart of the citadel of Rye, an area of cobbled streets which has been a Conservation Area since the Civic Amenities Act of 1967. In 1985, as a result of representations by the Rye Conservation Society to the East Sussex County Council and the ministry of Transport, the parking of cars was prohibited in the street and the need for unsightly yellow lines waived. 29,500 copies sold.

Painted by Anna Zinkeisen. In 1758 the Society of Arts offered prizes for what were known as 'ship's blocks', i.e. scale models of ships, in order to 'ascertain by experiments the principles on which a good vessel is founded'. Water resistance and resistance to rolling were two of the main qualities it was desired to test. It was not until 1761 that sufficient models had been submitted for the prizes but that year six entries, 4 32-gun frigates and 2 74-gun ships, were tried at Peerless Pool, near Old Street, in the City of London. 26,500 copies sold.

English Holly, Ilex aquifolium, photographed in the New Forest, Hampshire, one afternoon in late December by Andrea Jones, FRSA

Part of a set of designs that was highly commended in the 1996 RSA Student Design Awards Scheme for the Postage Stamp brief:'It's Christmas'. The RSA Student Design Awards scheme celebrates the benefits that industry and education can bring to each other. Each year approximately 3000 students enter the scheme which is supported by commercial companies, trust funds, the European Commission and individuals. 15,000 copies sold

Reproduced from the original in the Society's collection. For this work the artist, then aged 15, was awarded the Society's prize of five guineas, the first premium in its class. On the recommendation of the responsible Committee, 'as a further reward for...her Extraordinary Merit' she received a Silver Medal. The flowerpiece was shown in the first ever public exhibition of contemporary British painters and sculptors held in the Great Room of the Society's premises (in Denmark Court, off the Strand) in 1760. Mary Moser (1744-1819) continued to develop her skill and reputation as a flower painter in her later career. The major surviving example of her work in this genre is a room decorated for Queen Charlotte at Frogmore. She was the daughter of the medallist George Michael Moser, who was to become a founder and the first Keeper of the Royal Academy. She was also a foundation member of the Academy and one of the two original women Academicians, the other being Angelica Kauffman. 60,205 copies sold.

Original painting was awarded a prize of five guineas and a silver medal in 1759. The artist was 15 years old and the silver medal was given in addition to the advertised monetary prize 'as a further reward for her extraordinary merit'. Mary Moser was a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768 and one of the first two women Academicians. 11,000 sold