The magazine was an immediate success, and the first edition sold 26,000 copies. Within a few months, it was selling over 65,000 copies a week. High prices were charged for advertisements, and Ingram was soon making £12,000 a year from this publishing venture. Encouraged by the success of "The Illustrated London News", Ingram decided in 1848 to start a daily newspaper, the "London Telegraph". When Andrew Spottiswoode started a rival paper, the "Pictorial Times", Ingram purchased it and merged it with the "Illustrated London News". In 1855, Ingram took over another rival, the "Illustrated Times".