The Great Exhibition, 1851: Embroidered Saddle-cloth from Turkey

Photograph of a saddle cloth and sword. The cloth is richly embroidered with a leaf design in each corner, the centre having been left bare. The sword hangs across the centre of the photograph. The sword and saddle cloth were displayed in exhibits from Turkey at the 1851 Great Exhibition.

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).