• listing of relevant resources: London 1851, Paris 1855

• selected images:  London 1851, Paris 1855

• other links

Locomotive: Lord of the Isles: one of the ordinary class of engines constructed by the Great Western Company since 1847. It is capable of taking a passenger-train of 120 tons at an average speed of sixty miles an hour upon an easy gradient (page 42: quote from page 43)

The opening of the Great Exhibition by Her Most Gracious Majesty, on May the 1st, 1851: The moment chosen by the artist is that when the Prince Consort, having delivered the address, is about to present to Her Majesty the catalogue of the Exhibition (pull-out no. IV; between pages 60-61; quote from page 61)

Railway signals: the centre object shows the signal in course of action, while those at the side represent its appearance by day and night (page 67)

The refreshment room, north transept (page 76)

The Medieval Court: The Medieval Court, in the strikingly-harmonious combination of its stained glass, hardware, wood-carving, hangings, encaustic tiles - all successful repetitions of Gothic models - will at least have the merit of suggesting to many, who would not otherwise have heard of such facts, the fulness of beauty and character, and the homogenousness, of medieval design, however applied to domestic as to ecclesiastic purposes (pull-out no. V; between pages 90 & 91; quote from page 91)

Elizabethan table and stool (page 104)

The Queen and Prince Albert's visit to the machinery department of the Great Exhibition: the Queen in the Machine Room, examining the vertical printing machine invented by Applegarth for the Times newspaper. In the left-hand corner is a representation of Black's patent folding machine; while on the other side, we have a view of a carding machine, one of a series of instruments used in woollen manufacture (pull-out no. VII; between pages 116 & 117; quote from page 118)

The wounded American Indian: the effort of the sculptor has been to give a correct representation of the Indian races of North America. The figure is represented wounded and fallen, therefore typifying the race ...It is the first statue ever executed in American marble  (page 134; quote from pages 134-135)

American library chair: The freedom with which the chair may be turned on its centre, renders it very convenient to a person who may want to turn to his library-shelf or side-table, as he can do so without leaving his seat. The castings are good, and the design neat and pretty; the whole reflecting much credit on the inventor and on American art (page 140)

Celtic brooches: Various specimens of brooches, copied from the antique ornaments found, from time to time, in different parts of the country, and preserved in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, grace these pages ... The objects exhibited are of Irish sliver and silver gilt (page 154; quote from page 153)

Gladiatorial table - John Fletcher, Cork: In this object the utile et dulce are well united (page 162; quote from page 163)

Fire grate by Stuart and Smith, Sheffield: It is made upon the principle known as Sylvester's, which effectually counteracts the disadvantages of the old system - the heat of the fire in this case being thrown into the apartment, and not, as in the common stove, up the chimney (page 202; quote from page 203)

Sheffield Court from a daguerreotype by Fehrenbach: While many of the courts or departments into which the Exhibition is divided, contain specimens of goods manufactured in various parts of the empire, the Sheffield Court is exclusively appropriated to the manufactures of the "metropolis of steel", in the manufacture of which, and of tools and cutlery, she stands unrivalled (page 210; quote from page 202)

Beetle-wing dress: It is worked by Miss Mary West, of Brougham-terrace, Kingston, Dublin. It is embroidered  in green and rich brown leaves, with flowers interspersed, formed of the beetle-wing - so much used in Indian embroidery, but seldom seen in any executed in England. The silk employed is that known by the name of Deccan silk, and the rich colours have a very good effect on the black lace of which the dress is made. We are glad to see this novel application of the beautiful beetle-wing, which glitters and looks so brilliant by candle light ... (page 219; quote from page 220)

General view of the American Department: Pianofortes of elaborate carving and brilliant tone, carriages of nice construction and elegant appointments, luxurious chairs, graceful epergnes, instruments of exact scientific construction, and machines of complicated and ingenious invention, are scattered through the department in numbers sufficient to show what the great nation of the west is aiming to accomplish side by side with the older nations of the world (pull-out no. XXIX; between pages 254 & 255; quote from page 256)

Indian hackery, or common native carriage: the wheels are made of the Acacia Arabica, or Babool, and the vehicle is worthy of remark from its being constructed without any metal being employed in it (page 325)

View of the Turkish Court, from a photograph by Fehrenbach: The Turks have arranged their exhibition with much art. It resembles a beautiful bazaar, lighter and more coquettish than their own, in which the goods are displayed after the Eastern fashion (page 329; quote from page 330)

The Day Dreamer, by Jennens and Bettridge: The easy chair thus appropriately named was designed by H. Fitz Cook, and manufactured in papier maché by the exhibitors (page 345)

Patent printed velvet pile carpet, Messrs Bright and Co., Manchester: [the carpet differs] from the ordinary Brussels carpets, in the fact that the pattern is produced by printing, after the material has assumed a regular form, by being woven in a power-loom (page 549; quote from pages 549-550)

Group of objects of British manufacture: lace and embroidered dresses, shawls, etc - selected from the contributions of various manufacturers (page 552)

View of the British furniture court: The truthfulness of English work ... is particularly manifested in furniture and decorative appliances; and not only truthfulness of execution, but, in some instances, beauty of design, and the excellent quality of the material, are equally predominant when compared with the productions of our continental neighbour (page 555; quote from page 554)

Plan of the Building: The western half of the building is occupied by Great Britain and her Dependencies. The productions of the United Kingdom are arranged in thirty classes, and each class is indicated by a red banner. The Colonies are also marked in the same manner. The eastern half of the building is filled with the productions of foreign countries, whose names are inscribed on similar banners suspended over the various divisions. The Plan will assist in determining the position of Countries and Classes in the building (pages 12-13; quote from page 2)

The Imperial Dessert Service manufactured by Messrs. J. Rose & Co, of Coalbrookdale, for Messrs. Daniell & Co., of London: This service is one of the most magnificent productions in porcelain ever manufactured in England: and will, perhaps, take its stand, so far, at all events, as colour is concerned, beside the best productions of the Continent. The ground is of turquoise blue, the evenness and brilliancy of which are very remarkable (page 3)

Brass door handles of Messrs. Hart of London: they are unrivalled for brilliancy; Cabinet from Messrs. Crace & Co. of London: It is of Elizabethan character ... original, therefore, in design it is not, but it is of a right good order, and the workmen employed in carving it have done well. English exhibitors of this class of articles, however, will find themselves outdone in France; One of the locks of Messrs. Chubb of London: It is of pure polished steel, very beautiful in design, and of unsurpassed excellence in execution; a work with which the French will not attempt competition (page 5)

The works of Messrs. Herbert, Minton & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent: a stall which commands universal attention and consequent respect, and to which the savants of all countries resort; the result of which has been that nearly the whole of the articles exhibited have been sold, many of them to the Emperor and Empress, notwithstanding the wealth of Sèvres is at their command. Messrs. Minton, indeed, boldly challenge comparison with this renowned palace of fictile art, and the competition is by no means altogether against them (page 14)

Objects contributed by Messrs. Prime & Son, of the Magneto-Plate Works, Birmingham: The principal of these is a CENTREPIECE, designed and modelled by Mr. J. J. Allen, an artist of the town; it is constructed to serve either as an epergne or a candelabrum; the figures, which take the form of caryatides, are symbolical of the quarters of the globe, and are intended to represent the assembling of the inhabitants of the earth with the productions of their respective countries (page 38)