Editing Great Exhibition

{{Short description|1st world's fair in 1851 in London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox World's Fair
|box_width   = 250
|class       = Universal
|category    = 10
|image       = The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for Grand International Exhibition of 1851.jpg
|image_width = 300
|caption     = The Great Exhibition 1851
|year        = 1851
|name        = 1851 [[London]] 
|opened      = 1 May 1851
|closed      = 15 October 1851
|building    = [[The Crystal Palace]]
|area        = {{convert|10.4 |ha|abbr= on}}
|invent      = [[Telegraph]], [[vulcanised rubber]]
|visitors    = 6,039,722
|organized   = 
|cnt         = 
|org         = 
|biz         = 
|country     = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
|city        = [[London]]
|venue       = [[Hyde Park, London]]
|coord       = {{coord|51|30|11|N|0|10|12|W|format=dms|type:landmark_region:GB|display= inline,title}}
|cand        = 
|award       = 
|open        = {{date range and age in years, months, weeks and days|1851|5|1|1851|10|15}}
|close       = {{start date|df=yes|1851|10|15}}
|prevexpo    = 
|prevcity    = 
|nextexpo    = [[Exposition Universelle (1855)|Exposition Universelle]]
|nextcity    = [[Paris]]
|suppl       = 
|prevsuppl   = 
|prevsupcity = 
|nextsuppl   = 
|nextsupcity = 
|simuni      = 
|simspe      = 
|simhor      = 
|simoth      = 
|website     = 
}}
[[File:Crystal Palace from the northeast from Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 1854.jpg|thumb|[[The Crystal Palace]] in Hyde Park, London, in 1851]]
[[File:The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851.jpg|thumb|''[[The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria]]'' by [[Henry Courtney Selous]]]]
[[File:Crystal Palace - Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition.jpg|thumb| [[Queen Victoria]] opens the Great Exhibition in [[The Crystal Palace]] in Hyde Park, London, in 1851]]
[[File:Crystal Palace - interior.jpg|thumb|The enormous [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] went from plans to grand opening in just nine months]]
[[File:Crystal Palace interior.jpg|thumb|Exhibition interior]]
[[File:Crystal Palace.PNG|thumb|The front door of the Great Exhibition]]
[[File:GtExhib1851.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph Paxton|Paxton]]'s Crystal Palace enclosed full-grown trees in Hyde Park]]

The '''Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations''', also known as the '''Great Exhibition''' or the '''Crystal Palace Exhibition''' (in reference to the temporary [[The Crystal Palace|structure in which it was held]]), was an [[International Exhibition|international exhibition]] that took place in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], London, from 1 May to 15 October 1851. It was the first in a series of [[world's fairs]], exhibitions of [[culture]] and [[Manufacturing|industry]] that became popular in the 19th century. The event was organised by [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]] and Prince [[Albert, Prince Consort|Albert]], husband of [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]], Queen of the United Kingdom.

Famous people of the time attended the Great Exhibition, including [[Charles Darwin]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Michael Faraday]] (who assisted with the planning and judging of exhibits), [[Samuel Colt]], members of the [[Orléanist|Orléanist royal family]] and the writers [[Charlotte Brontë]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Lewis Carroll]], [[George Eliot]], [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Alfred Tennyson]], and [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]. The future [[Arts and Crafts movement|Arts and Crafts]] proponent [[William Morris]], then a teenager, later said he refused to attend the Exhibition on the grounds of taste.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introducing William Morris |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/introducing-william-morris |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> Exhibits showcased include the first public [[flush toilet]]s invented by [[George Jennings]].<ref name="Historic UK">{{cite news |title=The History of Women’s Public Toilets in Britain |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/History-of-Womens-Public-Toilets-in-Britain/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=Historic UK |quote=The story in Britain starts in 1851, as the Great Exhibition show-cased the first public flushing toilet, created by George Jennings, who was a plumber from Brighton. The popularity of this invention was such that the first public lavatories opened the following year and were known as ‘Public Waiting Rooms’. The vast majority of these were men’s conveniences.}}</ref>

The opening music, under the superintendence of [[William Sterndale Bennett]], was directed by [[George Thomas Smart]]. Organised by [[Howard Staunton]], the first international chess tournament took place at the Exhibition.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=British Chess Magazine |title=Howard Staunton: part I |date=November 1908 |author=Murray, H.J.R. |url=http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html |access-date=2008-06-19 |author-link=H. J. R. Murray |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208141521/http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html |archive-date=December 8, 2007 }} and {{cite journal|journal=British Chess Magazine |title=Howard Staunton: part II |date=November 1908 |author=Murray, H.J.R. |url=http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html |access-date=2008-06-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208141521/http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Staunton_BCM.html |archive-date=2007-12-08 }}</ref> The world's first [[soft drink]], [[Schweppes]], was the official sponsor of the event.<ref>{{cite news |title=Schweppes Holdings Limited |url=https://www.royalwarrant.org/company/schweppes-holdings-limited |access-date=13 October 2021 |website=Royalwarrant.org|quote=the world’s first ever soft drink, Schweppes soda water [..] the official sponsor of Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition in 1851}}</ref>

==Background==
The Great Exhibition was organised by Prince [[Albert, Prince Consort|Albert]], [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]], Francis Henry, [[George Wallis]], [[Wentworth Dilke]], and other members of the [[Royal Society of Arts|Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce]] as a celebration of modern [[Secondary sector of the economy|industrial]] technology and design. It was arguably a response to the highly effective [[French Industrial Exposition of 1844]]: indeed, its prime motive was for Britain to make "clear to the world its role as industrial leader".<ref name="Kishlansky, Mark 2008">Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary and Patricia O'Brien. ''Civilization in the West''. 7th Edition. Vol. C. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.</ref> Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, was an enthusiastic promoter of the self-financing exhibition; the government was persuaded to form the [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851]] to establish the viability of hosting such an exhibition. Queen Victoria visited three times with her family, and 34 times on her own.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eugene-Louis Lami (1800-90) - The opening of the Great Exhibition 1851 |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/452380/the-opening-of-the-great-exhibition-1851 |website=www.rct.uk |publisher=[[Royal Collection]] |language=en }}</ref> Although the Great Exhibition was a platform on which countries from around the world could display their achievements, Britain sought to prove its own superiority. The British exhibits at the Great Exhibition "held the lead in almost every field where strength, durability, utility and quality were concerned, whether in iron and steel, machinery or textiles."<ref name="Ffrench, Yvonne 1851">Ffrench, Yvonne. ''The Great Exhibition''; 1851. London: Harvill Press, 1950.</ref> Britain also sought to provide the world with the hope of a better future. Europe had just emerged from "two difficult decades of political and social upheaval," and now Britain hoped to show that technology, particularly its own, was the key to a better future.

Sophie Forgan says of the exhibition that "Large, piled-up 'trophy' exhibits in the central avenue revealed the organisers' priorities; they generally put art or colonial raw materials in the most prestigious place. Technology and moving machinery were popular, especially working exhibits." She also notes that visitors "could watch the entire process of cotton production from spinning to finished cloth. Scientific instruments were found in class X, and included electric telegraphs, microscopes, air pumps and barometers, as well as musical, [[horological]] and surgical instruments."<ref name="Forgan, S. 2000">{{citation |last=Forgan |first=Sophie |journal=Nature |page=596 |title=A compendium of Victorian culture |volume=403 |issue=6880 |date=10 February 2000 |doi=10.1038/35001134|bibcode=2000Natur.403..596F |s2cid=7602408 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

A special building, or "The Great [[Shalimar Gardens, Lahore|Shalimar]]",<ref name="dukemag">{{cite web |url= http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/the-great-exhibition-of-1851 |title= The Great Exhibition of 1851|access-date=30 July 2007 |work= Duke Magazine|date= November 2006}}</ref> was built to house the show. It was designed by [[Joseph Paxton]] with support from [[structural engineer]] [[Charles Fox (civil and railway engineer)|Charles Fox]], the committee overseeing its construction including [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], and went from its organisation to the grand opening in just nine months. The building was architecturally adventurous, drawing on Paxton's experience designing [[greenhouse]]s for the [[William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire|sixth Duke of Devonshire]]. It took the form of a massive glass house, 1848 feet long by 454 feet wide (about 563 metres by 138 metres) and was constructed from [[cast iron]]-frame components and [[glass]] made almost exclusively in [[Birmingham]]<ref>{{cite book|editor=James Harrison|title=Children's Encyclopedia of British History|year=1996|publisher=Kingfisher Publications|location=London |isbn=978-0-7534-0299-3|page=131|chapter=Imperial Britain}}</ref> and [[Smethwick]]. From the interior, the building's large size was emphasized with trees and statues; this served, not only to add beauty to the spectacle, but also to demonstrate man's triumph over nature.<ref name="Kishlansky, Mark 2008"/> The Crystal Palace was an enormous success, considered an architectural marvel, but also an engineering triumph that showed the importance of the exhibition itself.<ref name="Ffrench, Yvonne 1851"/> The building was later moved and re-erected in 1854 in enlarged form at [[Sydenham Hill]] in south London, an area that was renamed [[Crystal Palace, London|Crystal Palace]]. It was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1936.<ref name="dukemag"/>

Six million people—equivalent to a third of the entire population of Britain at the time—visited the Great Exhibition. The average daily attendance was 42,831 with a peak of 109,915 on 7 October.<ref>{{cite book|title=Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862|year=1863|publisher=D. Appleton & Company|location=New York|page=412 |url=https://archive.org/stream/1862appletonsan02newyuoft#page/n419/mode/1up}}</ref> [[Thomas Cook]] arranged travel to the event for 150,000 people and it was important in his company's development. The event made a surplus of £186,000 (£33,221,701.65 in 2023), which was used to found the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]] and the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]]. They were all built in the area to the south of the exhibition, nicknamed [[Albertopolis]], alongside the [[Commonwealth Institute|Imperial Institute]]. The remaining surplus was used to set up [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851|an educational trust]] to provide grants and scholarships for industrial research; it continues to do so today.<ref>{{cite web | last = The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 | title = About Us | url = http://www.royalcommission1851.org.uk/about.html | access-date = 1 November 2008}}</ref>

The exhibition caused controversy as its opening approached. Some conservatives feared that the mass of visitors might become a revolutionary mob.<ref name="newth">{{cite book | last = Newth | first = A.M. | title = Britain and the World: 1789–1901 | publisher = Penguin Books | location = New York | year = 1967 | isbn = 978-0-14-080304-4 | page = 97}}</ref> The English-born King [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]], shortly before his death, wrote to Lord Strangford about it: <blockquote>
The folly and absurdity of the Queen in allowing this trumpery must strike every sensible and well-thinking mind, and I am astonished the ministers themselves do not insist on her at least going to [[Osborne House|Osborne]] during the Exhibition, as no human being can possibly answer for what may occur on the occasion.  The idea&nbsp;... must shock every honest and well-meaning Englishman.  But it seems everything is conspiring to lower us in the eyes of Europe.<ref>{{citation |last=Van der Kiste |first=John |year=2004 |title=George III's Children |edition=revised |publisher=Sutton Publishing Ltd |location=[[Stroud]], United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-7509-3438-1 |pages=206–207}}</ref></blockquote>

In modern times, the Great Exhibition is a symbol of the [[Victorian Age]], and its thick catalogue, illustrated with steel engravings, is a primary source for High Victorian design.<ref>{{cite book|title=Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations |year=1851 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OfMHAAAAQAAJ}}</ref> The Albert Memorial to the exhibition, crowned with a statue of [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], is located behind the [[Royal Albert Hall]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://preview-riba.contensis.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/GreatExhibition/MemorialToTheExhibition.aspx| title=Memorial to the exhibition| publisher=[[Royal Institute of British Architects]]| access-date=18 October 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141018203211/http://preview-riba.contensis.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/GreatExhibition/MemorialToTheExhibition.aspx| archive-date=18 October 2014| url-status=dead}}</ref> It is inscribed with statistics from the exhibition, including the number of visitors and exhibitors (British and foreign), and the profit made.

A range of medals were produced and awarded to exhibitors, jurists and providers of services.<ref>{{cite web|title= The Great Exhibition|url= http://www.historicalmedals.com/expo1851.htm|website= www.historicmedals.com|access-date= 18 March 2021|archive-date= 21 April 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210421145133/http://historicalmedals.com/expo1851.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref>

<gallery heights="180" widths="180">
File:1851 Medal Crystal Palace World Expo London, obverse.jpg|1851 medal [[The Crystal Palace]] in London by Allen & Moore, obverse
File:1851 Medal Crystal Palace World Expo London, reverse.jpg|1851 medal [[The Crystal Palace]] in London by Allen & Moore, reverse
</gallery>

== Exhibits ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2019}}
[[File:Image taken from page 237 of 'The Half Hour Library of Travel, Nature and Science for young readers' (11237196445).jpg|thumb|upright|A telescope at the 1851 exhibit]]
The official descriptive and illustrated catalogue of the event lists exhibitors not only from throughout Britain but also from its "Colonies and Dependencies" and 44 "Foreign States". Numbering 13,000 in total, the exhibits included a [[Jacquard loom]], an envelope machine, kitchen appliances, steel-making displays and a reaping machine that was sent from the United States.<ref>[http://www.victorianstation.com/palace.html "The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216045749/http://victorianstation.com/palace.html |date=16 December 2009 }}. Victorian Station. Retrieved 3 February 2009.</ref>

*The [[Mintons]] stand exhibited ceramics including [[majolica]] which proved a world-wide success. 
*The [[Koh-i-Noor]], meaning the "Mountain of Light", the world's largest known diamond at the time, was one of the most popular attractions of the India exhibit.
*The [[Daria-i-Noor]], one of the rarest pale pink diamonds in the world, was shown.
*The early 8th-century [[Tara Brooch]], discovered only in 1850, the finest Irish [[penannular brooch]], was exhibited by the Dublin jeweller George Waterhouse along with a display of his fashionable [[Celtic Revival]] jewellery.
*[[Alfred Charles Hobbs]] used the exhibition to demonstrate the inadequacy of several respected door [[Lock (security device)|lock]]s.
*[[Frederick Bakewell]] demonstrated a precursor to the [[fax]] machine.
*[[Mathew Brady]] was awarded a medal for his [[daguerreotype]]s.
*William Chamberlin, Jr. of Sussex exhibited what may have been the world's first [[voting machine]], which counted votes automatically and employed an interlocking system to prevent over-voting.<ref>"The Great Exhibition," ''[[Manchester Times]]'', 24 May 1851.</ref>
*The first modern public [[flush toilets]] invented by [[George Jennings]] were installed at the exhibition, with 827,280 visitors paying the penny fee to use them. The toilets remained even after the exhibition was dismantled. "Spending a penny" became a euphemism for using a toilet.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://findery.com/californiawilliam/notes/spending-a-penny-for-the-monkey-closet | title=Spending a Penny for the Monkey Closet | access-date=13 September 2017 | archive-date=13 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913141113/https://findery.com/californiawilliam/notes/spending-a-penny-for-the-monkey-closet | url-status=dead }}</ref> Such was their popularity the first public lavatories opened in 1852.<ref name="Historic UK"/>
*[[Firearms]] manufacturer [[Samuel Colt]] demonstrated his prototype for the 1851 [[Colt Navy]] and also his older [[Walker Colt|Walker]] and [[Colt Dragoon|Dragoon]] revolvers.
*The [[Tempest prognosticator]], a [[barometer]] using [[leech]]es, was demonstrated.
*The [[America's Cup]] yachting event was instigated with a race held in conjunction with the Great Exhibition.
*Gold ornaments and silver enamelled handicrafts fabricated by the [[Sunar]] caste from [[Sind Province (1936–55)|Sind]], [[British India]].
*C.C. Hornung of Copenhagen, Denmark, showed his single-cast iron frame for a [[piano]], the first made in Europe.
*"The Trophy Telescope", so called because it was considered the "trophy" of the exhibition, was shown.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Trophy Telescope at Wester Elchies|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=23|pages=1|bibcode = 1862MNRAS..23....1S|last1 = Smyth|first1 = C. P.|year=1862|doi=10.1093/mnras/23.1.1|doi-access=free}}</ref> Its main lens of 11 inches (280&nbsp;mm) aperture and 16 feet (4.9 m) focal length was manufactured by [[Ross (optics)|Ross]] of London. The [[Equatorial mount#German equatorial mount|German equatorial mounting]] was made by [[Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies|Ransome & May]] of Ipswich.
*The instrument maker J. S. Marratt exhibited a five-foot [[achromatic lens|achromatic]] telescope and a transit [[theodolite]] used in surveying, tunnelling, and for astronomical purposes.
* [[Asprey]] exhibited a [[kingwood (wood)|kingwood]] and [[ormolu]] mounted lady's dressing case with silver-gilt contents bearing the "Annie" cipher.
*The emphasis of the [[New Zealand]] exhibit featured natural resources, as well as crafted items made by [[Māori people|Māori]], such as [[Kete (basket)|flax baskets]], [[Whakairo|carved wooden objects]], eel traps, mats, fish hooks and hand clubs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wolfe|first=Richard|date=2019|title=International Exhibitions|url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/research/crafting-aotearoa/international-exhibitions|access-date=21 April 2021|website=Auckland War Memorial Museum}}</ref>

== Admission fees ==
[[File:Lane's_Telescopic_View_The_Ceremony_of_Her_Majesty_Opening_the_Great_Exhibition_Inside_view_grand_opening_by_Queen_Victoria.jpg|thumb|upright|Lane's Telescopic View The Ceremony of Her Majesty Opening the Great Exhibition Inside view grand opening by Queen Victoria]]

Admission prices to the Crystal Palace varied according to the date of visit, with ticket prices decreasing as the parliamentary season drew to an end and London traditionally emptied of wealthy individuals. Prices varied from two [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2.15|1851|2015|r=-2}}}} in 2015){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} (three guineas for a man) for a season ticket, or £1 per day (for the first two days only), then reducing to five shillings per day (until 22 May).<ref name="leapman">{{cite book | title=The World for a Shilling | author=Leapman, Michael | year=2001 | pages=72}}</ref> The admission price was then further reduced to one shilling (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.05|1851|2015|r=0}}}} in 2015),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} per day—except on Fridays, when it was set at two shillings and six pence, and on Saturdays when it remained at five shillings.<ref name="leapman"/> The one-shilling ticket proved most successful among the industrial classes, with four and a half million shillings (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|225000|1851|2015|r=-6}}}} in 2015){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} being taken from attendees in this manner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fashion-era.com/the_great_exhibition.htm#Entrance%20Costs%20To%20The%20Great%20Exhibition|title=Entrance Costs to the Great Exhibition|work=Fashion Era|access-date=3 February 2009}}</ref> Two thousand five hundred tickets were printed for the opening day, all of which were bought.<ref name="newth"/>

To attract future customers from the working classes, the newly expanding railways offered highly discounted tickets for people to travel from distant parts of the country, and special rates were offered to parties, often led by the local vicar. Those too poor to travel lined up by the rail tracks to watch the long trains of open carriages steaming past.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomalin |first1=Claire |title=Thomas Hardy : the Time-Torn Man |date=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-141-01741-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780141017419/page/37 37] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780141017419/page/37 }}</ref>

== Stereoscopic views ==
The Great Exhibition of 1851 encouraged the production of souvenirs. Several manufacturers produced [[stereoscope]] cards that provided a three-dimensional view of the exhibition. These paper souvenirs were printed lithographic cards which were hand-coloured and held together by cloth to give a three-dimensional view of the event. They offered a miniature view of the Crystal Palace when one viewed the cards through the peep holes on the front cover. Visitors purchased these souvenirs so that they could relive the experience of attending.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/about/photographs-collection/stereoscopic-photographs-in-the-collection/|title=Stereoscopic Photographs in the Collection – National Portrait Gallery|website=www.npg.org.uk|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bain's facsimile]]
* [[List of world's fairs]]
* [[1862 International Exhibition]], held in London.
* [[Festival of Britain]]
* [[Great Exhibition Bay]]
* [[Prince Albert's Model Cottage]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Further|The Crystal Palace#Further reading}}
* {{cite book |last=Auerbach |first=Jeffrey A. |title=The Great Exhibition of 1851: A Nation on Display |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-300-08007-0 }}
* Eyck, Frank. ''The Prince Consort: a political biography'' (Chatto, 1959).
* {{cite book |author-link=Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith |last=Gibbs-Smith |first=Charles Harvard |title=The Great Exhibition of 1851 |location=London |publisher=HMSO |orig-year=1951 |edition=Second |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-11-290344-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Greenhalgh |first=Paul |title=Ephemeral Vistas: The Expositions Universelles, Great Exhibitions and World's Fairs, 1851–1939 |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-7190-2299-9 }}
* James, Robert Rhodes. ''Albert, Prince Consort: A Biography'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1983), a major scholarly biography
* {{cite book |last=Leapman |first=Michael |title=The World for a Shilling: How the Great Exhibition of 1851 Shaped a Nation |publisher=Headline Books |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7472-7012-6 }}
* {{cite book |title=Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851 |others=Dickinson Brothers |location=London |year=1854 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/1851-london Official website of the BIE]
* [http://london1851.com/cross10.htm 1851 map]. Map of London showing the site of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. MAPCO
* [http://john-leech-archive.org.uk/keyword/great-exhibition.htm "Memorials of the Great Exhibition" (cartoon)]. Cartoon series from ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' magazine
* [http://www.mytimemachine.co.uk/?p=74 Charlotte Bronte's account of a visit to the Great Exhibition], mytimemachine.co.uk
* {{cite web
 |publisher= [[Royal Institute of British Architects]]
 |url= http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/GreatExhibition/TheGreatExhibitionof1851.aspx
 |title= Great Exhibition of 1851 and its legacy
 |work= Architecture and history
 |access-date= 14 December 2010
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120407022601/http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/GreatExhibition/TheGreatExhibitionof1851.aspx
 |archive-date= 7 April 2012
|url-status= dead
 }}
* [http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/national-art-library-great-exhibition-collection Great Exhibition Collection in the National Art Library] [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20060427.shtml "In Our Time"] BBC radio programme discussing the Great Exhibition and its impact. Originally broadcast 27 April 2006
* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part12.htm#exhibition Royal Engineers Museum] Royal Engineers and the Great Exhibition
* {{cite web |publisher= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]
 |url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/watercolours-of-great-exhibition/
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140814033429/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/watercolours-of-great-exhibition/
 |url-status= dead
 |archive-date= 14 August 2014
|title= Watercolours of the Great Exhibition
 |work=Paintings and Drawings
 |access-date= 13 November 2007}}
* [http://www.studylove.org/worldsfairs21.html#1851 1851 London (BIE World Expo)] – approximately 190 links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfwtwlfwvaU Fair Enough: The London Great Exhibition, 1851] – YouTube, documentary, 1h03m41s
* The Great Exhibition 1851, Presented by David de Haan (YouTube, documentary):
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzvHv9CmdKQ Part 1] – 25m26s
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sDj8VquIQY Part 2] – 22m01s
* [http://archive.org/details/WilliamIrwinThompsonB7 The Great Exhibition of 1851: Industrialization and the Emergence of the Modern World] – audio, lecture, 38m21s, at Internet Archive
* [http://archive.org/details/Dickinsonscompr1 Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851] – book, 230pp, at Internet Archive
* [http://archive.org/details/guidebooktoindu00goog Guide-Book to the Industrial Exhibition] – book, 175pp, at Internet Archive
* [http://archive.org/details/artjournalillust00bradrich/page/n7 The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue: The Industry of All Nations, 1851] – book, 432pp, at Internet Archive
* [http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/52365 The American Exhibit at the Great Exhibition of 1851] – video, illustrated lecture, 33m59s, at Georgia Tech Library
* [http://www.hberlioz.com/London/BL1851Exhibition.html Berlioz at the 1851 Exhibition] – article with pictures, at The Hector Berlioz Website
* [http://archive.org/details/glimpsesandgath00drewgoog/page/n6 Glimpses and Gatherings During a Voyage and Visit to London and the Great Exhibition in the Summer of 1851] – book, 404pp, at Internet Archive
* [http://archive.org/details/artfaithinfragme00trou/page/n3 Art and Faith, in Fragments from the Great Exhibition] – book, 354pp, at Internet Archive
* [http://archive.org/details/greatexhibition00sala/page/n1 The Great Exhibition: "Wot is To Be" (1850)] – booklet, 20pp, at Internet Archive
* [https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/the-great-exhibition-virtual-tour The Great Exhibition Virtual Tour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515185156/https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/the-great-exhibition-virtual-tour |date=15 May 2021 }}. Virtual tour of the "Crystal Palace"

{{Albert, Prince Consort}}
{{List of world exhibitions}}
{{List of world's fairs in Ireland and Great Britain}}
{{London history}}
{{Brunel}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Exhibition, 1851}}
[[Category:Great Exhibition| ]]
[[Category:19th century in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:1851 festivals]]
[[Category:1851 in London]]
[[Category:British design exhibitions]]
[[Category:Charles Darwin]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace, London]]
[[Category:Exhibitions in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Festivals established in 1851]]
[[Category:Hyde Park, London]]
[[Category:Lewis Carroll]]
[[Category:May 1851]]
[[Category:Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
[[Category:Economic history of London]]