10 Interesting Facts about the Great Exhibition

In this article, we will discuss Facts about the Great Exhibition in London. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was an international exhibition of culture and industry located in Hyde Park, London. This international exhibition was held for a half year started from May 1st to October 11th, 1851. Let’s read these following facts to get more information about the Great Exhibition.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 1: Background of the Exhibition

The Great Exhibition was possibly held in response to the highly successful French Industrial Exposition of 1844. The main motive to hold this international exhibition was to show the world about the role of Great Britain as industrial leader.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 2: Organizers

The organizers of The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was Henry Cole, Prince Albert, Francis Henry, Charles Dilke, George Wallis and other members of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 3: Visitors

Many famous and important visitors attended the Great Exhibition such as Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family. There are also notable writers like Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson came in this exhibition. Find more facts about the Gobi Desert here

Facts about the Great Exhibition 4: The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace or The Great Shalimar was the temporary structure where the The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations took place. Its form was a massive glass house, the length about 564 meters and the wide about 138 meters.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 5: Exhibition Interior

The Crystal Palace building was architecturally adventurous and beautiful. The large size of building was emphasized with trees and statues. Its purposes were to demonstrate man’s triumph over nature and add beauty to the spectacle.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 6: Exhibits

In the Great Exhibition, there are total 13,000 exhibits from Britain, Britain’s colonies and dependencies, and 44 ‘Foreign States’ in Europe and the Americas. The exhibits were various products included diamonds, ornaments, clothes, envelope machine, kitchen appliances, steel-making displays and a reaping machine.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 7: Diamonds

In those exhibits, there are two famous diamonds called the Koh-i-Noor and the Daria-i-Noor. The  Koh-i-Noor was the world’s biggest known diamond at the time of the Great Exhibition. The second diamonds, the Daria-i-Noor, was one of the rare pale pink diamonds in the world. Find more facts about the Globe Theatre here

Facts about the Great Exhibition 8: Symbol of the Victorian Age

The Victorian Age took the Great Exhibition as its symbol. Its thick catalogue, illustrated with steel engravings, is a primary source for High Victorian design.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 9: Controversy

The Great Exhibition caused controversy among conservatives and radicals. Some conservatives worried that the mass of visitors might become a revolutionary mob. While Karl Max saw the exhibition as an emblem of a capitalist fetishism of commodities.

Facts about the Great Exhibition 10: Admission Fee

Ticket prices of the Great Exhibition were varied from three guineas (£300.93 in 2015), (two for a woman) for a season ticket, or £1 per day (for the first two days only), then reducing down to five-shillings per day (until May 22nd).

Hopefully, those interesting Facts about the Great Exhibition will inform you about the Great Exhibition.