The Life and Death of London's Crystal Palace (2021)

Summary

Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace was one of the world’s most inspiring buildings. The interior of the Crystal Palace’s ‘Tropical’ end with its Winter Garden, which was destroyed by fire on 30 December 1866. © Historic England Archive. DP004607. From the opening of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park to its final demise, its compelling glass and iron design and awe-inspiring vastness attracted the attention of photographers on the ground and in the air. Here we take a look at some of the remarkable photographs of the life and death of the Crystal Palace that can be found in the Historic England Archive. The Great Exhibition The 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was an important event for photography. Photographic equipment and photographs were exhibited, including some lent by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who were keen patrons of this relatively new invention. A print of an engraving of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. The engraving by Thomas Sherratt was made from a daguerreotype photograph taken by John Mayall. Seventy-two Mayall daguerreotypes were displayed at the Great Exhibition. © Historic England Archive. OP10855. The building itself – the largest in the world at the time – and the tens of thousands of objects on display were documented by amateur and professional photographers, and their images were distributed worldwide. However, an unfortunate incident occurred when photographer Nicolaas Henneman broke some fingers off a statue when moving it to a better position to photograph it! Photographs were used to illustrate the official ‘Reports by the Juries’ – books listing the categories of objects on display at the Great Exhibition and the awards given. However, each book required printing individual photographs that had to be inserted into each volume. Our image above isn’t a photograph but a print made from an engraving, made from a daguerreotype – one of the first photographic processes. Engravings could easily be printe...