Crystal Palace during The Great Exhibition, 1851: General View from Transept, Looking West

Photograph of the interior of the exhibition hall of the Great Exhibition, 1851. There are statues and benches in the foreground. The ground and first floor galleries are visible on either side of the photograph. A selection of objects are protected under sheets, including the large object in the centre of the photograph, in the middle ground.

This photograph is from Volume I (RCIN 2800000) of ' Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851: Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes into which the Exhibition was Divided'. The incredibly successful Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, commonly known as the Great Exhibition, ran from May to October 1851. At the exhibition's conclusion, over 100 copies of the four volume 'Reports by the Juries' were distributed to foreign governments and notable participants. The reports consist of the juries' comments and assessments of the works displayed in the exhibition. The idea and decision to illustrate the reports with photographs is attributed to Prince Albert (1819-61).