| We are just beginning to build our online collection . We have over 2 million images so if you ca n't find what you 're looking for , call us on 020 7805 5585 ILN Firsts Like any newspaper of today , a paper 's popularity relied not only on the quality of its writing and the visual appeal of its illustrations , but also for its ability to report on forthcoming events before any other rival . As a weekly paper , it was even more important for The Illustrated London News to have its fair share of journalistic " scoops " ( one of the first was when they published the plans for the Great Exhibition before even Prince Albert had seen them ) . In addition , as a record of other types of " firsts " which today seem commonplace , such as the letter box , the ILN proves to be an invaluable source . Finally , the ILN was the first publication to push forward the boundaries of publishing techniques with the first colour plates ever produced in 1855 and over seventy years later , the novelty of the first 3-D anaglyph . |