The Great Exhibition, 1851: Articles in Gutta Percha by the Gutta Percha Company

Photograph of a display of articles in gutta percha, a type of natural latex produced from the sap of a tree with the same name. Some of the objects shown are reproductions of period furniture, frames, inkstands or decorative architectural items. More utilitarian objects are also shown, such as a watering can, a bucket, a hose and a jug. The objects are displayed on the floor together with a couple of specimens of the tropical tree from which the natural latex is produced.

This photograph is from Volume III (RCIN 2800002) 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).