'Large Blocks of Coal'

Photograph of Welsh steam coal from the collieries of Edward Oakeley, Esq, at Coed Talon and Leeswood, near Mold, north Wales. This information is written on a sign attached to the coal, in the foreground on the left. There is a metal structure in the background, on the right. The display of coal was exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition.

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).