The Crystal Palace

The Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations took place in Hyde Park between 1 May and 15 October 1851. The Exhibition displayed more than a 100,000 examples of manufactured products from around the British Empire, France, Russia and the United States. The exhibition was conceived by Prince Albert and the civil servant Henry Cole as a showcase for British industry, art and design. The two men sat on the council of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The Exhibition succeeded in attracting over six million visitors from all social backgrounds. The profits from the Exhibition were used to fund the creation of museums including the Museum of Ornamental Art, the forerunner of the Victoria and Albert Museum, located at Marlborough House.

The Great Hall was built to accommodate the exhibition by over 2,000 workers. The satirical magazine Punch dubbed the huge iron and glass building the 'Crystal Palace'. The building was designed by the landscape gardener and architect, Joseph Paxton. After the Exhibition closed, the building was dismantled by Act of Parliament and moved to Penge Park, Sydenham. The relocation proved extremely expensive at a cost of over £1 million pounds. The resurrected Crystal Palace was opened by Queen Victoria in 1854 and became an enormously popular visitor attraction. The Crystal Palace was eventually destroyed by fire in 1936.

This model was made during the Exhibition and was given to the London Museum by Queen Mary in 1923.