Combination railways - Public domain book illustration, Library of Congress

A man wearing a coronet, who resembles British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, touches the arm of a bearded man in a modest suit, carrying what may be a bag of tools. They stand before a ticket window labeled "Combination Railw[ay]." The bearded man digs into his pocket for money in order to purchase a train ticket and looks back at Gladstone.
Inscribed on verso of old mount: Lord Beaconsfield & a workman on British Railways.
No copyright information found with item.
Signed, lower left: JT monogram.
Title inscribed above image.
Bequest and gift; Caroline and Erwin Swann; 1974; (DLC/PP-1974:232.636)
One of Gladstone's special interests was the railway system. Concerned with the monopolistic character of the railways and therefore, its potential to exploit the public, Gladstone introduced legislation in 1844, that provided for better accomodations for poorer classes at one penny per mile, and the right of the state to purchase the railways twenty-one years after they had been built. This image deals with the South Coast and South Eastern lines.
Forms part of: Caroline and Erwin Swann collection of caricature and cartoon (Library of Congress).
Possibly published in: Punch.