The Great Exhibition, 1851: Busts in Bronze by Cordier

Photograph of a pair of bronze busts of a black male and a black female on circular plinths. The male figure is bearded, wears a head scarf and drapery hanging over his shoulders, tied at the neck with toggles. The female figure has short dreadlock hair and bare shoulders. She wears drapery around her bust, a necklace and earrings. The busts by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (1827-1905) were exhibited at the Great Exhibition.

This photograph is from Volume IV (RCIN 2800003) 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).