The Great Exhibition

The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park 1851.

The enormous Crystal Palace went from plans to grand opening in just nine months.

The Great Exhibition, also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition, was an international exhibition held in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 May to 15 October 1851 and the first in a series of World's Fair exhibitions of culture and industry that were to be a popular 19th century feature.

Exhibits

• Alfred Charles Hobbs used the exhibition to demonstrate the inadequacy of several respected locks of the day.
• Frederick Bakewell demonstrated a precursor to today's Fax machine.
• The Tempest Prognosticator, a barometer using leeches, was demonstrated at the Great Exhibition
• The America's Cup yachting event began with a race held in conjunction with the Great Exhibition.
• George Jennings designed the first public conveniences in the Retiring Rooms of the Crystal Palace for which he charged one penny.

Other websites

• Prince Albert's speech of 1849, announcing "The Exhibition of 1851"
• "Memorials of the Great Exhibition" Cartoon Series from Punch
• Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers and the Great Exhibition
• "In Our Time"BBC radio programme discussing the Great Exhibition and its impact.
• Images from the catalogue on flickr.com
• Charlotte Bronte's account of a visit to the Great Exhibition
• Great Exhibition Collection in the National Art Library

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Crystal Palace