Images

An illustration of the Church of Nativity, Bethlehem, basilica and grounds 1486, as depicted by Konrad von Grünenberg in "Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem" (1487)

A diagram of a retracting gun turret of the Maginot Line, France's Second Woorld War (1939-45) defences along the border with Germany and Switzerland.

A photograph of members of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during the Phoney War. Taken in January 1940. (Imperial War Museums)

Exotic animal transportation, Roman mosaic in the Villa del Casale, Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Italy, 4th century. Image published in Le Musée absolu.

A 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai.

A fresco of the early Orthodox Saint Ignatius of Antioch who died in the 2nd century CE.

A picture of a 19th-century coach caught in the snow. From a tin produced by Excelvit. (Private Collection)

Volumes of Christmas Literature. (Private Collection)

An 1880 coloured lithograph titled Christmas Eve by J. Hoover. (Library of Congress)

An 1848 illustration of the royal Chirstmas tree of Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) and Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince Consort (l. 1819-61).