Telescopic View of the Ceremony of Her Majesty Opening the Great Exhibition of All Nations
Telescopic View of the Ceremony of Her Majesty Opening the Great Exhibition of All Nations
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Designed by Thomas Rawlins
Published by C.A. Lane
London, 1851
Designed by Thomas Rawlins
Published by C.A. Lane
London, 1851
C.A. Lane was a prolific toy book publisher and produced several different Crystal Palace peepshows during the Exhibition’s run. This accordion book, designed by Thomas J. Rawlins, consists of six lithograph cut-outs attached by cloth which, viewed through the peephole in the book's cover, produce a three-dimensional view of the Crystal Palace interior. This book strives to capture the physical space of the Exhibition by un-flattening widely circulated illustrations and descriptions of the Crystal Palace (some of which are included in this exhibit). In doing so, it produces the Exhibition as a space where social differences seem to be swallowed up or dissolved under glass ceiling of the Crystal Palace.
Although this book announces itself as representing Queen Victoria at the opening of the Exhibition, the Crystal Fountain occupies the centre of the view and obscures the royal family. In other words, while the Queen’s coat of arms is prominently displayed on the book’s cover, she is shown to be no different from other attendees who found themselves swallowed up by both the architecture of the Crystal Palace and the crowds within it.
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