The Great Exhibition, 1851: Cain and his Family by Etex

Photograph of a plaster sculpture of Cain and his family. Cain is seated at the centre of the group. On the right, his wife kneels on the ground, and rests her head on her right forearm, placed on Cain's left thigh. She holds a small child in her lap. On the left, an older child leans on Cain. The sculpture by Antoine Étex (1808-88) was 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).