A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

The History of Sydenham from Cippenham to present day. Links to photos especially welcome!
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tulse hill terry
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William Frank Carver

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An English cabinet card showing champion rifle shot Doctor William F. Carver, a dentist and exhibition shooter who appeared with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show in the late 1870s.

According to a report in The Times (27 March 1879), Dr Carver demonstrated his skill to members of the press in an exhibition at Hendon. ‘He went through his extraordinary performance in exceedingly cool and collected style, and surprised everyone present by the accuracy of his aim. Yesterday Dr Carver confined himself principally to fancy shots, but two feats accomplished by him gave ample proof of his ability as a marksman. One of these consisted in breaking 89 out of 100 glass balls thrown in the air by hand. In the second he had undertaken to break 50 glass balls in three minutes, and accomplished the task in 1 min. 57 sec. Among his other shots, he succeeded in hitting a ball on the ground when standing with his back towards it, sighting by means of a small looking-glass. […] In the performance of his feats Dr Carver used what is known as the Winchester repeating rifle’.

On 15 April 1879 the same newspaper published a lengthy review of Dr Carver’s show at the Crystal Palace. According to this: ‘Among the feats of rifle-shooting performed yesterday were shots taken with the rifle held in almost every conceivable way, the coolness and perfect confidence of the negro who throws the balls exciting no little surprise, apparently. While his horse is going at the fast shambling pace peculiar to those of mustang blood, Dr Carver, using a double-barrelled shot gun, from the saddle again and again broke two balls thrown into the air at the same time. Immediately after his performance he left for Sandringham, where, by command of the Prince of Wales, he will display his dexterity today, returning to town in time to repeat the exhibition at the Crystal Place on Wednesday’.

A penciled inscription on the reverse of the mount reads : ‘Dr Carver, Jim and Winnemucca’. Jim must be the man standing on the left, who used to throw the glass balls for Dr Carver to shoot, and Winnemucca is Dr Carver’s horse.

Photographed by Negretti and Zambra of Crystal Palace, Sydenham.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Frank_Carver

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CC-Buffalo-Bi ... 5ae7047d0d

Update : SOLD for £544.47
Last edited by tulse hill terry on 3 Jun 2012 18:06, edited 1 time in total.
tulse hill terry
Posts: 688
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

Bit of a mish mash of a post. Was looking for an image of the tall clock in the south nave [not the Dent Clock] and came across these. I've looked through Mr Charles Scwartz site [www.cs-photo.com/] before, but he has more views now, which I thought I would share here.

First up, a single image from a stereoview of the opening ceremony of the Crystal Palace in 1854

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Next up an image from the south side of the Central Transept, looking towards the east - park side.

The sculpture here is mainly the work of John Gibson. The nearest is "Psyche and the Zephyrs." The large Gentlemen with his back to us is Robert Peel by Carlo Marochetti, responsible for the figure of "Turkey wihich remains in the park [just !] as well as the Richard I that stands outside the Houses of Parliament to this day.

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Somewhere central to the Crystal Palace, though as we have [from left to right] Winzerin by the German sculptor Friedrich Drake, followed by Eve and then Veritas (Truth) both by the Italian Raffaelle Monti, and the nationalities were initially kept seperate, I'm not exactly sure where.

The ranks of busts from one of the "Portait Gallerys" shows that it is central.

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In the North Nave, the back of the Roman Court.

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Inside the Roman Court, with August Emil Braun's model of the Colosseum at Rome.

Interesting article here http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/sites ... den%29.pdf

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The Alhambra Court, with the base of the enormous Aboo Simbel figure just visible through the arches.

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Somewhere central - Giuseppe Dini's "Murder of the Innocents"

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In the South Nave of the Crystal Palace, one of Christian Daniel Rauch's "Stags" from the Wildpark at Potsdam, outside the Stationary Court.

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In the South Transept of the Crystal Palace, cast # 12.* VENUS. by the mysterious W. FIELDER. "an amateur production presented by the artist." To the right Dorothea and Andromeda by John Bell.

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tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

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tulse hill terry
Posts: 688
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

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One of the first-ever news photographs – showing Queen Victoria and French president Napoleon III – is expected to sell for £12,000 at auction.

The image captures Victoria, her husband Prince Albert and their guests, Napoleon and his wife Empress Eugenie, on stage during a diplomatic ceremony at Crystal Palace.

The black-and-white picture, printed on a metal sheet, was taken in London on April 20, 1855 by famous photographer Philip Henry Delamotte.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1wzTJd7HV
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1MPCKyEkf
tulse hill terry
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Joined: 25 Jun 2007 01:33
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

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Forgot to bid on this today.
Under the patronage of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen

CENTENARY OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS
1880
PROGRAMME
OF THE
PIECES TO BE SUNG ON THE OCCASION
OF THE GREAT
Sunday School Centenary Festival
at the
MASS CONCERT
To be held in the Grounds of the Crystal Palace
On WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30th, 1880
By a Choir of at least
30,000 SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS & SCHOLARS
SUPPORTED BY MILITARY BANDS
CONDUCTOR: MR. LUTHER HINTON
PRICE TWOPENCE
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Bought this a while ago, written on pencil on the back is the a title of the same event. Interesting to see the bust of Paxton [1873] in it's original position, before it was moved for the Festival of Empire 1911.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Raikes
tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

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CRYSTAL PALACE, Ashsby Denton's Merrie Magpie's Concert Party - RP 1909

J. Russell & Sons
Annie.
Posts: 2070
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by Annie. »

Yes they are, thank you for taking the time to upload all the lovely pictures Terry.
Just wanted you to know we do look at them and appreciate your effort even if i never say so .

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tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

Don't quite understand the beginning of your post but you are very welcome all the same. I was inspired by the Masterplan, to do what I could to remind people of the history of the Park, no idea if that has been achieved.

As the Masterplan arose form the Sports Council announcing they were abandoning the Sports Centre, and in anticipation of its demolition, I can understand the desire to make more public space, and emphasise the history that was obscured when the sports centre was built. As it is now listed and won't be demolished, I don't understand how they can still insist on building on the Rockhills site, when while a little bit of land will be lost, but nothing can really be added to the publicly accessible part of the park.

An image of the park with many of the temporary buildings of the Festival of Empire 1911 [some stood for 50 years] was used to indicate [in a recent thread] that the park is not land without a history of building. Mmm? I'm not sure it's really relevant. It was originally common land as Penge Common, when it was sold to the Crystal Palace Company, it was then the private property of Leo Schuster. The Palace and the Park were a private concern till it was sold to Lord Plymouth. If he had not bought it, it could have been bought by anyone to build housing and current arguments would never take place. Lord Plymouth was repaid what he spent on it, but it remained a place where admission needed to be paid before entrance, bar the area near the Penge entrance. It was closed again during the Second World War, and took sometime to reopen fully. I can't see what any stage of the Palace's history sets precedent for or against development or public access. How about we just let ourselves have what we want, grass, butterfly houses or blocks of flats.

In this spirit, here's a comtemporary article, showing an example of an 1911 Masterplan - The Festival of Empire. A reminder perhaps of a time whenthat if you were struggling to make a success of your life here in Britain, you could always just leave.

I'll add the illustrations when I find my scanner.
THE FESTIVAL OF EMPIRE

BRITANNIA’S UNIVERSAL PAGEANT.

BY ALLIN GREEN.

THE picturesque slopes of Sydenham have more than resumed their Victorian animation. Today the Crystal Palace and its two hundred and fifty acres of grounds holds the largest, most ambitious, and most up-to-date series of exhibitions that our mighty Empire has ever known. Incidentally, one may wonder whether this Imperial hustle, this shop-window of John Bull, Unlimited, will result in the Crystal Palace becoming more the people’s playground. The public, in these strenuous days – days wherein we play hard as well as work hard – declines to find entertainment in statue-adorned gardens alone. It wants something stronger, something to take its attention by storm, something which thrills and fascinates as well as pleases in a mild way. The Crystal Palace, originally constructed in Hyde Park, by Sir Joseph Paxton, for the great Exhibition of 1851 – the British boom organised by the Prince Consort – is still the most remarkable building of its kind – an engineering marvel – and it has been left to the Council of the Festival of Empire to demonstrate what enterprise, influence, and money can do. In place of but occasionally frequented lawns, the Festival of Empire has given us some three hundred ornate buildings, ranging from the seventy thousand pounds palace of the Canadian Government to charming kiosks. Disused water towers have been cast upon the scrap heap; moss-grown cascades, long innocent of plashing water, have provided sites for the pavilions of Australia and New Zealand; faded bandstands have been whisked away; statues, interesting as works of art, but not calculated to enthuse the tripper, have been stored in some suitable gallery; clumps of bushes have been cut through to make way for the All-Red Route : hills have been levelled, and dells filled in. In short, on the site of this playground of the past has risen a pleasure-ground of the present – a noble feature among the Coronation landmarks of King George V., the first monarch who has visited every portion of his far-flung dominions here represented.

And yet, while half a million of money has, during the past nine months, been laid out, upon buildings, railways, amusements, roads, paths, stairways, grandstands, illuminations, and so forth, the rural charm of the Palace parkland has not been damaged. No vandal hand has been laid upon this fair scene, for the head of this notable illustration of the Empire is the Earl of Plymouth, well known for his taste and judgement as an art critic and patron. Indeed, with the utmost truth it can be stated that while the Crystal Palace has been utterly transformed this year, it is an infinitely more delightful resort than ever. Not a tree of any value has been sacrificed. Expert gardeners – gentlemen who have made a study of horticulture and floriculture – have watched the changes, in order that the natural charm of the grounds should not be destroyed, while, with the aid of many thousands of plants, shrubs, rose trees, pergolas, loggias, terrace-gardens, water-gardens, and so on, the eye is even more enchanted than formerly.

In order that the grass-lands should not be disturbed more than was absolutely necessary, workmen were expressly forbidden to go off the roads and paths unless their duties compelled them to. Even before a holly bush was removed, the permission of the chief gardener had to be obtained. One day, in February, this functionary was going his rounds, when, to his horror, he espied a fallen sapling. Indignantly he demanded of the only toiler near the spot why the young birch had been dug up. “Sure, sorr, and no one dug it up,” replied the Irish foreman. “Then how comes it to be lying on the earth ?” “It just fell down, sorr, of uts own accord.” “But who dared dig so close to its roots as to make it fall ?” “ I don’t know the man’s name, sorr,” replied the diplomatic son of Erin, “but he’s gone to work in another part of the ground.” And, realising that pat was too good a witness to commit himself under cross-examination, the tree treasurer turned away with an amused smile.

In many ways the Festival of Empire is a noteworthy effort. To begin with, it is, after the Coronation itself, the outstanding event of this historical season – a season which is making London the holiday sity of the universe. Again, this is probably the first great exhibition formed before our very eyes. There was no closing of gates, no evolution in secrecy, no shutting out of the public. Never once have the gates of the Palace or of the park been closed to the people ; all were free to roam where they listed, and to observe everything which was being done for their benefit.

Then, for the first time in sixty years, His majesty’s government has lent its patronage to an exhibition, while the Premier, Cabinet Ministers, Governors General of the Overseas Dominions, and other men in high official places are vice-presidents of the Festival.

But most remarkable of all is the unique fact that this vast organisation, rendered possible only by the guaranteeing of nearly five hundred thousand pounds, has been done without the slightest hope of personal profit. No syndicate or promoter will swell a bank balance as a result of the Festival of Empire, for all profits are to be given to the King Edward VII. Hospital Fund. The past can show no parallel to this patriotic, imperial, and philanthropic series of exhibitions.
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/about_us/our_history.html
How came this mammoth machine to be started ? For years it has been the dream of artist organisers to hold a pageant of Empire – to relate, by means of a living history book, the story of how this mighty assemblage of lands came beneath the sway of the vigorous Anglo-Saxon, and then grew into our present Empire. Over and over again, since pageantry was revived in many a centre of localised history, have attempts been made to create a pageant which should be remembered as something of national and imperial importance,.

Several season ago, Mr. Frank lascelles, the designer of glittering pageants at Oxford, Bath, Quebec, and Cape town, thought out schemes by which, with the aid of fifteen thousand voluntary performers and several thousands of pound’s worth of costumes, arms, scenery, and properties, the tale of Britain could be told from the prehistoric times when London was a collection of mud huts on the banks of the River Fleet to the time when our present King opened the first Commonwealth Parliament of Australia.
http://thesibfords.org.uk/sibipedia/frank-lascelles
With the active support if the Earl of Plymouth and other distinguished men, Mr. Lascelles gradually evolved his plans, until, early in May of last year, all was ready, from Sir Aston Webb’s huge amphitheatre down to the smallest detail. Then, within a few days of the long – expected opening, came the passing of Edward the Peacemaker. To have held a gay and gorgeous Festival of empire when all the Empire mourned was unthinkable. It was, therefore, a deeply-depressed little party which stood on the Grand Terrace of the Crystal Palace and gazed upon the wasted work. Artists every one of them, the lieutenants of Mr. Lascelles were sad of heart to drop their hands at the moment when the realisation of their conscientious labours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Webb
Then came a ray of hope over the darkened scene. “Now we mourn the loss of King Edward. Next year we shall rejoice at the crowning of King George. Next year – “ said one of the party, and he left the rest to imagination. So he struck the keynote of hope, and others, thus inspired, added their quota. Said one: “Let us have an even more expansive pageant, to take in episodes from far-off lands where flies the Union Jack.” Said another : “Let us raise on these very slopes a series of scenes of life in all parts of the Empire.” Said a third : “Let us show the art and industry of Britons by holding in the Palace itself a comprehensive display of all-British goods and methods of manufacture.”

So the Festival of Empire, the Pageant of London, and the All-British Exhibition grew. Lord Plymouth was able to form a brilliant council of ladies and gentlemen in whom the public have every faith. H.R.H. the Princess Louise, The Dukes of Norfolk, Devonshire, Marlborough, Westminster, and Fife, and many other noblemen, came to his aid, while the support was enlisted of such influential people as High Commissioners of Colonies, the Churches, the President of the Royal Academy, captains of industry, chairmen of chambers of commerce, lord mayors and representatives of the fine arts, the Law, the Army and Navy, and may public bodies.

Further, the Festival, which has brought together an extremely able body of administrators, was most fortunate to secure, as its Honorary Secretary, Mr. A. E. Forbes Dennis [Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis], and as its surveyor, architect and business manager, Mr. Herbert W. Matthews, and as its chief painter and inventor of amazing scenic effects, Mr. Leolyn G. Hart, who, with nearly a hundred brothers of the brush, has turned out many miles of painted canvas for the All-Red Route – a ninety thousand pound’s realisation of Empire.

That this expression of what Empire means appealed to those go-ahead brethren of ours on the other side of the Atlantic may be judged from the fact that the Canadian Government at once voted seventy thousand pounds for the erection and equipment of a great palace in the grounds. This building, the finest ever erected as a temporary show place, is two-thirds size actual reproduction of the Parliament building in Ottawa. The enormous pavilions of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Newfoundland are also exact replicas of Government offices in the various dominions, while the Indian building, where is stored a priceless collection from our Empire of the East, is a copy of the Taj Mahal at Agra.

Even those who have been most closely associated with the growth of the Festival can hardly realise the limitless enterprise of the many departments which had their headquarters in fifty rooms at Empire House, Piccadilly. What a stroke of genius it was to create that remarkable advertisement in being – the gigantic model of the grounds and buildings which is shown in a specially-erected pavilion in Aldwych and Strand ! It has added a thousandfold to the interest taken in the Festival by “the man in the street.”

Difficulties arose time after time, as they were bound to, but all were overcome with inspiring energy. When it was pointed out that the Crystal Palace was a long way from town, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway agreed to electrify the line from Victoria and London Bridge, so that the journey could be accomplished in fifteen minutes.

When it was found that large crowds of people could not flow rapidly and comfortably in and out of the Palace, the Council decided to construct two wide and finely-proprtioned flights of stone stairways from the level of the Palace floor to the main terrace.
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Think, too, what it meant to repaint the great glass house, to clean over a million windows of five feet in length each, to lay down a mile and a half of electric railway in the grounds, to prepare ten miles of roads and paths, to bed out three million plants and shrubs, to fix twenty miles of electric lamps, to lay three additional miles of water-pipes, to put in three thousand horse-power of machinery in one power station, to hang twenty-five thousand yards of calico awning in the Palace roof, to place a million feet of other drapery round the sides, to buy twenty historic old State coaches, and a thousand horses and cattle for the Pageant, to make fifteen thousand costumes and suits of armour !

So one might go on enumerating the details of the work that has gone to the making of the Festival. Suffice it to say that with such thoroughness was the herculean task taken in hand, that British manufacturers flocked in to support the Empire’s unique display. In fact, quite early in the period of preparation the demand for space in the Palace and in the Canadian building was so heavy that intending exhibitors had to set about constructing their own pavilions in the grounds.

From the first it was intended that the All-British display should not be a dry goods affair, but that, wherever possible, the exhibits should consist of working models. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, from the raising of new restaurants to the provision of Empire sports, in which teams of athletes from our Overseas Dominions will participate.

A glance at a few of the exhibits gives one an idea of the desire to delight crowds of visitors. As one wanders about this spreading show, one sees nearly two million pounds worth of dazzling diamonds from the Kimberley mines, pictures from the Duke of Marlborough’s galleries at Blenheim Palace, fifty thousand pounds’ worth of old English porcelain and other curios, photographs from the cleverest operators in all corners of the earth, hats being made from the fur to the finished article, a stage whereon the latest fashions of the day are worn by beautiful English girls, battleships to demonstrate how the Thunderer was built, an entire street of Tudor houses, a stone reproduction of the Temple of Minerva at Bath, an appliance for cleaning boots by electricity, a cinematograph theatre where only living pictures of the Empire are cast upon the screen, a gold mine in full working order, a jungle where lurk the wild animals of India, a guess at the London of A.D. 2000, a representation of bush life in Australia. In fact, the round of varied interests is longer than can be followed in the day, even if one did not step aside to watch, for a couple of hours, the army of pageant performers in the enclosure below the North Tower.

Again, the energy of the Festival founders has found outlets in the arranging of carnivals, battles of flowers, tattoos, naval and military tournaments, flower shows, Boy Scouts’ camps, an exhibition of child-life, Empire and county concerts, gymnastic and physical culture displays, flying matinee performances in the Crystal Palace Theatre by leading players, championship cycle and swimming races, and tableaux of Empire.

One especially attractive and important section of the display in the grounds is that devoted to small holdings and country life.

This, conducted on eminently practical and educational lines, occupies about ten acres, and the man who has a holding, or even an allotment, learns how he may advantageously stock it, and in what market he may get the most remunerative return for the capital he has invested and the labour he has expended upon its cultivation. There is a model homestead designed on inexpensive lines for the accommodation of the small farmer and his family. Close at hand are the farm buildings, comprising stables, cow-sheds, and greenhouses.

There is likewise a model dairy, a creamery, a factory for producing cheese, an egg-collecting depot, a bacon factory, a fruit-bottling room, a bee-keeping department, and a depot for handling market garden produce, with experts in charge of each branch.
17 Small Holdings Exhibition.

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In the main, the raison d’etre of this Festival of Empire is to make the stay-at-home Briton see, in the most attractive form, the significance of our self-governing possessions in all parts of the world, to show us the industries, the progress, and the unlimited possibilities of those vast possessions.

The aim is to preach the gospel of Empire, and, at the same time, to form an Imperial “At Home.” Travelling Englishmen have long declared that while they, in the Colonies, have been treated with the widest hospitality, we in the old country seldom make an effort to return that kindness. The Festival is endeavouring to alter that. For example, all visitors from overseas are especially welcomed, and the Dominions Club, established at Rockhills, the former residence of Sir Joseph Paxton, the creator of the Palace, is open to them all. There they are being received by the Hospitality committee, and from there tours of the United Kingdom are arranged.

In this and in other ways the idea of making the Festival of Empire a great “at home” for all Britons is being fostered, and that Lord Plymouth and his colleagues have struck the true and lasting Imperial note is emphasised by the fact that King George has decided to celebrate his coronation by inviting a hundred thousand school-children to spend June 30 at the Festival of Empire, when His Majesty will cause his little guests to gain a glimpse of the wonders of that world over which he wisely rules.

A £500 MODEL OF THE FESTIVAL OF EMPIRE BUILDINGS.

Photo by Gale & Polden.)

ANOTHER MODEL OF THE GENERAL SCHEME.

Photo by Russell & Sons.

A CONTRAST TO THE PRECEDING MODELS: THE MALAY VILLAGE SHOWN IN THE GROUNDS.

Photo by The London News Agency.

A MAORI TABLEAU.

Photo by

THE FEDERAL HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, MELBOURNE, AS REPRODUCED IN THE FESTIVAL SERIES OF BUILDINGS.

Photo by Russell & Sons.

GOVENRMENT BUILDINGS, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, AS REPRODUCED IN THE FESTIVAL SERIES OF BUILDIGNS.

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND, AS REPRODUCED AMONG THE FESTIVAL BUILDINGS.

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, OTTAWA, AS REPRODUCED AMONG THE FESTIVAL BUILDINGS.

OLD LONDON WALL RECONSTRUCTED.

Photo by The World’s Graphic Press.

KNIGHTS TO THE TOURNAMENT

Photo by Everitt, Crystal Palace

MEDIAEVAL COURTIERS LEARNING TO BOW TO THEIR SOVEREIGN.

Photo by The World’s Graphic Press.

THE BAKERS CAR.

THE CITY OF LONDON CAR.

THE BARBER’S CAR.

Three photos by London News Agency.

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, CAPE TOWN, AS REPRODCUED AMONG THE FESTIVAL BUILDINGS.

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Last edited by tulse hill terry on 7 Jul 2012 20:25, edited 4 times in total.
Annie.
Posts: 2070
Joined: 11 May 2012 17:48

Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by Annie. »

Voyageur -    
25 Aug 2011 13:21 
Great pics! thanks for posting.


Sorry Terry,I was answering this post,
By saying yes they are great pictures.

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tulse hill terry
Posts: 688
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 01:33
Location: sarf lunnen

"two million pounds' worth of diamonds on show"

Post by tulse hill terry »

No problem.

There's more here,

http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/projec ... alace.html

and an article here

http://arianeb.wordpress.com/2011/10/16 ... -for-2011/

Apparently virtual Crystal Palaces are prone to disappearing !

Just found this, which proves Mr. Allin was not so objective a source.
The [Adelaide] Advertiser.
Monday 15 May 1911

FESTIVAL OF. EMPIRE.
THE OPENING DAY.
BRILLIANT SCENE AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.
LONDON. May 13.

The Festival of Empire at the Crystal Palace was opened yesterday by King George, who was accompanied to the ground by Queen Mary and their children, Prince Edward of Wales and Princess Mary. The Royal party were accorded an enthusiastic ovation as they drove through streets lined with 100.000 school children and boy scouts. They stopped to listen to the National Anthem sung bv 20,000 children from Southwark.

Many triumphal arches were passed en route, and several mayors of borough councils presented loyal addresses. The Duke and Duchess of Fife, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, and the Duke and Duchess of Teck joined their Majesties at the Palace, where the whole company was formally received by the Earl of Plymouth, chairman of the committee of management. The spectators numbered 144,234.

A concert followed, at which Madam Clara Butt and Dr. Harris’s Sheffield Choir of 4,500 voices contributed patriotic songs. One of the numbers presented was Kipling's "Recessional." Subsequently the Sovereigns invited Sir Joseph and Lady Ward to tea. The King took occasion to express to Sir Joseph Ward his appreciation of the wreaths which New Zealand had sent to be deposited on King Edward's tomb at Windsor.
[youtubes]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iefmyjEv6_0[/youtubes]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recessional_%28poem%29
Afterwards the Royal party reviewed the Pageant, the performers, which were all attired in gorgeous costumes. They included a number of Australians and New' Zealanders. among them being Miss Ward (daughter of Sir Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of New Zealand), attired as a Maori princess, and Miss Ruby Seddon and Mrs. Hislop, also in Maori costume. Their Majesties inspected the model Imperial Parliament Houses, and the All-Red tour, including Canada's £70,000 exhibit, and the Fair of Fashions.

Subsequently the King and Queen attended the Dominions' reception, at which there were 3,000 invited guest, including Sir George and Lady Reid, Sir Joseph and Lady Ward, Sir W. Hall-Jones (High Commissioner for New Zealand), the Australian Agents-General and their wives, Lord Roberts, various foreign ambassadors at the Court of St. James, Cabinet Ministers, and many members of the House of Commons.


"ALL-RED" ROUTE.
A MAGNIFICENT PAGEANT.
(From Our Special Correspondent.)
London, April 13, 1911.

The Crystal Palace grounds are a remarkable sight just now. I was one of a number of guests of the council of the Festival of Empire at a luncheon given this week at the Palace, and saw from the windows above the terrace the progress of the "Empire City" that is rising into view. Replicas of every Parliament House in the overseas Dominions are being built in the grounds, on a scale of two-thirds the size of the originals. A mile and a half of electric railway winds in and out among the buildings and through the grounds, passing now through natural woodland scenes, now through cleverly-contrived re- productions of scenes in the Dominions overseas. This line will be bordered with thousands of flowers and shrubs. The sum of £8?9?0,000 is being spent on the making of this All-Red route, as it is called.

Mr. Leolyn G. Hart, the constructor of the All-Red route, estimates that on either side of the line there are 14 miles of painted scenery, averaging 30 ft. in height. Ninety picked scenic artists have been engaged for the last six months, and it is computed that they have used 150 tons of paint, valued at £4,500. Hemp canvas, especially woven in Dundee, has been employed.

The largest order on record for "properties" has been given in connection with the All-Red route. They range from stuffed lions, tigers, snakes, and monkeys for the mimic Indian jungle, to countless thousands of artificial grapes and other fruit: from 3,000 cod fish for the Newfoundland fisheries to an orchard of apple trees for Canada; from full-sized plaster models of horses, cows, and sheep to a 50 ft shaft for the African gold mine; and from a gigantic steamship to the machinery of a Kimberley diamond mine.

Then a thousand wild rabbits are to be imported to race about at their own sweet will on an Australian farm. A hundred geysers will throw hot water 50 ft. into the air in the New Zealand section of the route. In the Blue Mountains scene is a cascade down which 65,000 gallons of water will rush each minute; live animals will be used in the sheep-dipping and sheep shearing scenes; real vines will grow in the vineyard, but the "fruit" will be assisted" on to the trees for the sake of quick effect.

The Pageant of London.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the whole Festival of Empire will be the Pageant of London, which is being organised and controlled by Mr. Frank Lascelles, who is famed as a pageant master the world over. It will be remembered that he was responsible for the great pageant which was held on the plains of Abraham in honor of the tercentenary of Quebec, and also last year he produced the great Pageant at Capetown, which was held in commemoration of the opening of the Parliament of the Union of South Africa by the Duke of Connaught. For many months past a big staff has been at work under the direction of Mr. Lascelles, organising the pageant, which is to give a pictorial and historical review of London from the days of the Romans.

Almost every metropolitan borough is taking part, and in some instances districts outside the metropolitan area will be represented, while again in the fourth part visitors from the overseas Dominions will participate in the eight scenes that have been devoted to the colonies.
The principals in the pageant began rehearsing this week at the Crystal Palace, while the great body of 15,000 performers will assemble for the In or 20 final rehearsals early in May. At those rehearsals 400,000 school children will be present. The pageant itself opens the beginning of June, and will be continued every day until towards the end of July.

Dominions' Withdrawal.

Some surprise has been caused by the refusal of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Union of South Africa to take part in the Imperial Exhibition in connection with the Festival of Empire at the Crystal Palace. Extensive buildings have been erected to house the exhibits of the two Dominions, but these Mr. Allin Green, one of the organisers of the Festival, stated yesterday, will not be allowed to remain empty.

"They will be just as full and as interesting," he said. "The only difference will be that the promoters of the Festival will find the exhibits instead of the Governments' of the two colonies concerned. In the South African Pavilion the De Beers Consolidated Mines will have two million pounds' worth of diamonds on show."

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/5288571
Last edited by tulse hill terry on 28 Jun 2012 22:34, edited 1 time in total.
tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

To save me having to scan anything tonight, here are some relevant pictures i posted in 2008, here - "Festival of Empire 1911 in Colour" http://forum.sydenham.org.uk/viewtopic. ... 498#p13498

leenewham said:
Why was all this pulled down or does any of it still remain?
You can see the South Africa Pavilion [bottom left] still around after the First world War.

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And now you don't.

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Most of the festival buildings were just wood and plaster, inspired in style by the Franco British Exhibition of 1908, in the part of London now called "White City."

The kiosks on the terrace seemed to have survived for a while, and the rationalised Canadian Parliament building served as squash courts till vandals burnt them down in the 1950's.

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The crumbling plaster exterior of the Canadian Parliament building rationalised.

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Interestingly, the excuse that it was extravagant to maintain what were originally temporary buildings, was used by Churchill to remove all the Festival of Empire buildings erected on the South Bank in 1951. Nothing to do with them being erected by Labour government of course.

The interior of the Canadian Pavilion, from a guide, they have a copy at Bromley Library I think. You can see how they could be easily turned it into squash courts.

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Festival of Empire kiosks still standing during the First World War.

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tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

Engineering 1882 Great Organ Crystal Palace Gray Davison Euston London
A page from The Engineer dated 1888 The Engineer is a London-based fortnightly magazine covering the latest developments and business news in engineering and technology in the UK and internationally. Founded in January 1856, it is among the world's oldest professional journals. The Engineer was established by Edward Charles Healey, an entrepreneur and engineering enthusiast with financial interests in the railways whose friends included Robert Stephenson and Isambard Brunel.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Engineering-1 ... 53ed5bc92d
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[youtubes]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYrJgotP78o[/youtubes]
tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

William Alfred Lloyd

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William Alfred Lloyd (1826–1880) was an English self-taught zoologist who became the first professional aquarist.

Inspired by Gosse's new book, The Aquarium, published in 1854 Lloyd, who worked for a bookseller,began keeping marine animals in glass tanks. On 14 July 1855 he opened a shop advertised in Notes & Queries as “selling everything relating to aquaria” at 164 St John Street Road, Clerkenwell, London. In 1856 he opened a new shop “The Aquarium Warehouse” at 20, Portland Road, Regent's Park and in 1860 he supervised the installation of an aquarium The Gardens of the Society of Acclimatation in Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

By the 1860s the aquarium craze was over, at least in England, and Lloyd went bankrupt and in 1862 supported by Richard Owen he moved to Grindel Dammthor, Hamburg to supervise the installation of the circulating system and tanks at the Hamburg Aquarium.Success in Germany led to his appontment as Superintendent of the Crystal Palace Aquarium two years before it opened in 1871. Anton Dohrn who had made Lloyd's acquaintance in 1866 at the Hamburg aquarium invited him to install the aquaria at Stazione Zoologica at Naples in the spring of 1873. Here some of Lloyd's circulating system was still operating well into the 20 century. Anton Dohrn's professional biological station flourished and the Swedish Professor Loven of Sweden , who planned a research establishment sent a representative to London to consult with Lloyd.In England Lloyds last postnwas as superintendent at the Aston Aquarium, Birmingham.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/William-Alfor ... 3a77a6d65c
newbrit
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by newbrit »

Beautiful! Thanks...

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tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

You're welcome.

About 100 photographs on the Imperial War Museum, which was at the Crystal Palace till 1924.

http://m.iwm.org.uk/collections/search? ... tal+palace
Paxton
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by Paxton »

Fantastic, Terry, thank you.

Loved the photos of the high level station.


Be good to see some of the correspondence listed later too, wouldn't it?!

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SILLYOLDWIZARD
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by SILLYOLDWIZARD »

Wow ! I have just discovered this site .... it has opened so many doors to my memory . I was born in Penge in 1945 , and the Crystal Palace was my playground ... a place of wonder .
Halide
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by Halide »

Greetings. I wonder if anybody can please help me identify the maker and date of the attached photographs. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

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tulse hill terry
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Re: A Walk through the Nave of the Crystal Palace 1854

Post by tulse hill terry »

Hello there, they are likely to be ca.1859 and published by Zambra & Negretti. Perhaps Delamotte for the Crystal Palace Art Union. The pots outside the Mixed Fabrics Court seem to be in an identical position.

They are both taken in the South nave, the top one looking North towards the Pompeian Court (now where the buses park) and the other looking North east towards the Musical Instruments Courtand beyond, with the work of John Bell on display in the foreground. His Shakespeare, Maid of Saragossa, Una and the Lion and lastly Dorothea.

Hope this helps.

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Looking North to the Mixed Fabrics Court.
Delamotte 1859.
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