A caricaturist takes on the Great Exhibition, 1851

Illustrator and satirist George Cruikshank turned his hand to one of the biggest events held in 19th-century Britain: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.

Key location:

City of Westminster

Key dates:

1 May – 11 October 1851

  • Illustration from “1851: or, The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Sandboys” depicting a chaotic scene with characters and text, referencing the Great Exhibition of 1851.

    Frontispiece of 1851: or The Adventures of Mr and Mrs Sandboys, illustrated by George Cruikshank.

Sketches of a city gripped by the Great Exhibition

From May to October 1851, six million people flocked to London’s Hyde Park to visit the first ever world fair. The Great Exhibition showcased over 100,000 exhibits of industry and innovation from Britain and abroad. It was one of the most talked-about events of the day, inspiring many works of literature, poems and other publications.

One of these was journalist Henry Mayhew’s comic children’s book 1851: or, The adventures of Mr and Mrs Sandboys and family. The accompanying illustrations by George Cruikshank, which are in our collection, explore the Exhibition frenzy of summer 1851.

A troubled trip to London

Mayhew’s story centres on the Sandboys family who travel from the north of England to the Great Exhibition. But their visit is full of mishaps and misadventures. On the frontispiece, the Exhibition is treated like a fairground attraction. A caricatured London Beefeater in a caravan advertises the Exhibition to a crowd.

On top of the world

Some of Cruikshank’s illustrations are political and largely unrelated to the main children’s story. They also reflected racist portrayals that were commonplace at the time.

  • Historical illustration depicting a large crowd gathered for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, viewed in a circular, fish-eye lens style.

    Print titled All the world going to see the Great Exhibition of 1851.

  • Historical illustration showing the opening of the great industrial exhibition with crowded attendees and intricate architectural details.

    Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the grand opening.

The sketch above titled All the world going to see the Great Exhibition of 1851 shows how many British people viewed the Exhibition – and Britain’s place in the world. It’s on top of the globe and figures from other nations are crowding towards it.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert opened the Exhibition on 1 May. She later wrote in her journal that “Green Park and Hyde Park were one mass of densely crowded human beings, in the highest good humour and most enthusiastic.”

“Thousands attend the grand opening”

Had the whole country flocked to London?

Cruikshank exaggerates the fears of overcrowding in the capital as people of various classes travelled to the Exhibition from far and wide. In the sketch below, the heaving crowd hold signs saying “The park is FULL” and “Pray go back!”. It pairs with another illustration of a deserted Manchester street. Everyone had gone to London.

  • Illustration of a densely crowded 19th-century street scene with people celebrating under banners that read "peace & good will to all the world" and signs for local businesses.

    Visitors flock to Hyde Park along Regent’s Street.

  • Antique illustration of a group of people inspecting a dimly lit room, offered by a woman holding a candle, with arched ceilings and rustic furnishings.

    The Sandboys are offered a hammock to sleep in.

Cruikshank also pokes fun at visitors who can’t find accommodation. Above, a landlady offers the Sandboys a meagre room to stay in. She’s “just let the last tent on the tiles to a foreign noble”. In another print, Cruikshank shows visitors staying overnight in the opera boxes in Her Majesty’s Theatre, in the West End.

The wildly popular shilling days

A few weeks in, the entrance price was dropped from five shillings (a day’s wage for a skilled workman) to one shilling from Mondays to Thursdays. Cruikshank’s sketch of the first ‘shilling day’ shows how popular the reduced price was. It made the Great Exhibition open to almost everyone – no matter their class.

  • Etching depicting a crowd of 19th-century people dressed in formal attire, leaving a fenced enclosure, with trees and a large building in the background.

    Visitors try to locate their mislaid hats and shoes on the first shilling day.

  • A historical print featuring anthropomorphic frogs engaged in various activities, such as dancing, playing instruments, and dining, titled "some of the drolleries of the great exhibition - 1851.

    Stuffed animals in particularly human-like poses.

Set your sights on stuffed animals

Cruikshank parodies the type of exhibits on display in this whimsical print featuring stuffed animal characters. Stuffed animals arranged in scenes like these were one of the popular attractions of the Exhibition. There was even a stuffed elephant fitted with a magnificent Indian howdah (seat), apparently belonging to Queen Victoria.

Historical illustration titled "the dispersion of the works of all nations from the great exhibition, 1851," depicting various people, artifacts, and symbols in elaborate detail.

Some of the most popular exhibits, like the howdah, are among those shown leaving the Exhibition.

The world comes to the Crystal Palace

This final etching shows a medley of objects almost exploding from the Crystal Palace. Over 100,000 items had been on display, and once the Exhibition closed many were returned to their country of origin. At a time where most people couldn’t travel abroad, the Great Exhibition showed them the world.

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Great Exhibition Paintings, Prints & Drawings Victorian Publishing & Media Lifestyle & Leisure Cruikshank, George City of Westminster