These two charts are interesting just for historical purposes. This tracks the FTSE All-share index from 1800-2007. While there were a number of peaks and valleys, the FTSE went pretty much nowhere until after World War II. At that point, the 25-year average yearly return began to turn up markedly.
The charts are not adjusted for inflation. The blips at the end of the chart on 25-yr. average annual return are in 1973-1974 to the downside and 1997-2000 to the upside.
This post is part of my chart of the day series.