Thomas Cook's history - in pictures

Thomas Cook (1808 - 1892) who founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group. He also invented the 'circular note', now known as traveller's cheques Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images An illustration from Thomas Cook's first excursion in 1841 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A guide to Cook's Tours in France, Switzerland and Italy from 1865 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A tour party pictured in 1868 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A brochure cover from Cook's Tours Round the World, 1891 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive Thomas Cook's first head office in Ludgate Circus, London, which opened 1873, pictured c.1910 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A tour party from 1912 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A Nile Voyage brochure cover from 1930 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive Holidays Abroad by Air brochure from 1954 Photograph: Thomas Cook archives A member of staff in a Cook's uniform in 1955 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive Cooks to be Sure poster from 1962 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive Mr Vladimir Raitz, the owner of Horizon Holidays, reads a Cook's travel brochure at the head office of Thomas Cook in Mayfair in 1971. He was bidding to take over the company Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis A Thomas Cook brochure from 1976 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive A Winter Sun brochure from 1986 Photograph: Thomas Cook archive People walk past a window display of travel agency Thomas Cook in July 2003 in London. Due to fierce competition among UK operators Britons pay less for their package holidays than most of the rest of Europe Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images A Thomas Cook holiday charter jet landing in Skiathos, Greece, in 2008 Photograph: Terry Harris/Alamy Workers of Thomas Cook and their supporters hold a demo outside the offices on Grafton Street in Dublin in August 2009 protesting against redundancy terms Photograph: Julien Behal/PA Pedestrians pass a branch of Thomas Cook in London, in November 2011 as the UK travel company tries to secure financing from lenders Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images